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ZU  Nl  WATER  CARRIER 


DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR 
U.  S GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  REGION 

J.  W.  POWELL  in  Charge 


CONTRIBUTIONS 


NORTH  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


VOLUME  IV 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 
1SS1 


DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR 
U.  S.  GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  REGION 

J.  \Y.  POWELL  in  Charge 


HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE 


OF  THE 


AMERICAN  ABORIGINES 


BY 


LEWIS  IT.  MORGAN 


W A SHIN  G T O N 
GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 
1881 

(iii) 


V 


PREFACE. 


The  following  work  substantially  formed  the  Fifth  Part  of  the  origi- 
nal manuscript  of  “Ancient  Society,”  under  the  title  “Growth  of  the  Idea 
of  House  Architecture.”  As  the  manuscript  exceeded  the  limits  of  a single 
volume,  this  portion  (Part  V)  was  removed  ; and  having  then  no  intention  to 
publish  it  separately,  the  greater  part  of  it  found  its  way  into  print  in 
detached  articles.  A summary  was  given  to  Johnson’s  New  Universal 
Cyclopedia  in  the  article  on  the  “Architecture  of  the  American  Aborig- 
ines.” The  chapter  on  the  “ Houses  of  the  Aztecs”  formed  the  basis  of  the 
article  entitled  “ Montezuma’s  Dinner,”  published  in  the  North  American 
Review,  in  April,  1876.  Another  chapter,  that  on  the  “Houses  of  the 
Mound  Builders,”  was  published  in  the  same  Review  in  July,  1876. 
Finally,  the  present  year,  at  the  request  of  the  executive  committee  of  the 
“Archaeological  Institute  of  America,”  at  Cambridge,  I prepared  from  the 
same  materials  an  article  entitled  “A  Study  of  the  Houses  and  House  Life 
of  the  Indian  Tribes,”  with  a scheme  for  the  exploration  of  the  ruins  in 
New  Mexico,  Arizona,  the  San  Juan  region,  Yucatan,  and  Central  America. 

With  some  additions  and  reductions  the  facts  are  now  presented  in 
their  original  form ; and  as  they  will  now  have  a wider  distribution  than 
the  articles  named  have  had,  they  wdll  be  new  to  most  of  my  readers.  The 
facts  and  suggestions  made  will  also  have  the  advantage  of  being  presented 
in  their  proper  connection.  Thus  additional  strength  is  given  to  the  argu- 
ment as  a whole.  All  the  forms  of  this  architecture  sprang  from  a common 
mind,  and  exhibit,  as  a consequence,  different  stages  of  development  of  the 
same  conceptions,  operating  upon  similar  necessities.  They  also  represent 
these  several  conditions  of  Indian  life  with  reasonable  completeness.  Their 


v 


V] 


PBEFACE. 


houses  will  be  seen  to  form  one  system  of  works,  from  the  Long  House  of 
the  Iroquois  to  the  Joint  Tenement  houses  of  adobe  and  of  stone  in  New 
Mexico,  Yucatan,  Chiapas,  and  Guatemala,  with  such  diversities  as  the  dif- 
ferent degrees  of  advancement  of  these  several  tribes  would  naturally  pro- 
duce. Studied  as  one  system,  springing  from  a common  experience,  and 
similar  wants,  and  under  institutions  of  the  same  general  character,  they 
are  seen  to  indicate  a plan  of  life  at  once  novel,  original,  and  distinctive. 

The  principal  fact,  which  all  these  structures  alike  show,  from  the 
smallest  to  the  greatest,  is  that  the  family  through  these  stages  of  progress 
was  too  weak  an  organization  to  face  alone  the  struggle  of  life,  and  sought 
a shelter  for  itself  in  large  households  composed  of  several  families.  The 
house  for  a single  family  was  exceptional  throughout  aboriginal  America, 
while  the  house  large  enough  to  accommodate  several  families  was  the  rule. 
Moreover,  they  were  occupied  as  joint  tenement  houses.  There  was  also  a 
tendency  to  form  these  households  on  the  principle  of  gentile  kin,  the 
mothers  with  their  children  being  of  the  same  gens  or  clan. 

If  we  enter  upon  the  great  problem  of  Indian  life  with  a determination 
to  make  it  intelligible,  their  house  life  and  domestic  institutions  must  fur- 
nish the  key  to  its  explanation.  These  pages  are  designed  as  a commence- 
ment of  that  work.  It  is  a fruitful,  and,  at  present,  but  partially  explored 
field  AVe  have  been  singularly  inattentive  to  the  plan  of  domestic  life 
revealed  by  the  houses  of  the  aboriginal  period.  Time  and  the  influences 
of  civilization  have  told  heavily  upon  their  mode  of  life  until  it  has  become 
so  far  modified,  and  in  many  cases  entirely  overthrown,  that  it  must  be. 
taken  up  as  a new  investigation  upon  the  general  facts  which  remain.  At 
the  epoch  of  European  discovery  it  was  in  full  vitality  in  North  and  South 
America;  but  the  opportunities  of  studying  its  principles  and  its  results 
were  neglected.  As  a scheme  of  life  under  established  institutions,  it  was 
a remarkable  display  of  the  condition  of  mankind  in  two  well  marked 
ethnical  periods;  namely,  the  Older  Period  and  the  Middle  Period  of 
barbarism ; the  first  being  represented  by  the  Iroquois  and  the  second  by 
the  Aztecs,  or  ancient  Mexicans.  In  no  part  of  the  earth  were  these  two 
conditions  of  human  progress  so  well  represented  as  by  the  American 
Indian  tribes.  A knowledge  of  the  culture  and  of  the  state  of  the  arts  of 


PKEFACE. 


Vll 


life  in  these  periods  is  indispensable  to  a definite  conception  of  the  stages 
of  human  progress.  From  the  laws  which  govern  this  progress,  from  the 
uniformity  of  their  operation,  and  from  the  necessary  limitations  of  the  prin- 
ciple of  intelligence,  we  may  conclude  that  our  own  remote  ancestors  passed 
through  a similar  experience  and  possessed  very  similar  institutions.  In 
studying  the  condition  of  the  Indian  tribes  in  these  periods  we  may  recover 
some  portion  of  the  lost  history  of  our  own  race.  This  consideration  lends 
incentive  to  the  investigation. 

The  first  chapter  is  a condensation  of  four  in  “Ancient  Society,” 
namely,  those  on  the  gens,  phratry,  tribe,  and  confederacy  of  tribes.  As 
they  formed  a necessary  part  of  that  work,  they  become  equally  necessary 
to  this.  A knowledge  of  these  organizations  is  indispensable  to  an  under- 
standing of  the  house  life  of  the  aborigines.  These  organizations  form  the 
basis  of  American  ethnology.  Although  the  discussion  falls  short  of  a com- 
plete explanation  of  their  character  and  of  their  prevalence,  it  will  give  the 
reader  a general  idea  of  the  organization  of  society  among  them. 

We  are  too  apt  to  look  upon  the  condition  of  savage  and  of  barbarous 
tribes  as  standing  on  the  same  plane  with  respect  to  advancement.  They 
should  be  carefully  distinguished  as  dissimilar  conditions  of  progress. 
Moreover,  savagery  shows  stages  of  culture  and  of  progress,  and  the  same 
is  true  of  barbarism.  It  will  greatly  facilitate  the  study  of  the  facts  re- 
lating to  these  two  conditions,  through  which  mankind  have  passed  in  their 
progress  to  civilization,  to  discriminate  between  ethnical  periods,  or  stages 
.of  culture  both  in  savagery  and  in  barbarism.  The  progress  of  mankind 
from  their  primitive  condition  to  civilization  has  been  marked  and  eventful. 
Each  great  stage  of  progress  is  connected,  more  or  less  directly,  with  some 
important  invention  or  discovery  which  materially  influenced  human  prog- 
ress, and  inaugurated  an  improved  condition.  For  these  reasons  the  period 
of  savagery  has  been  divided  into  three  subperiods,  and  that  of  barba- 
rism also  into  three ; the  latter  of  which  are  chiefly  important  in  their  rela- 
tion to  the  condition  of  the  Indian  tribes.  The  Older  Period  of  barbarism, 
which  commences  with  the  introduction  of  the  art  of  pottery,  and  the  Middle 
Period,  which  commences  with  the  use  of  adobe  brick  in  the  construction 
of  houses,  and  with  the  cultivation  of  maize  and  plants  by  irrigation,  mark 


PREFACE. 


viii 

two  very  different  and  very  dissimilar  conditions  of  life.  The  larger  por- 
tion of  the  Indian  tribes  fall  within  one  or  the  other  of  these  periods.  A 
small  portion  were  in  the  Older  Period  of  savagery,  and  none  had  reached 
the  Later  Period  of  barbarism,  which  immediately  precedes  civilization.  In 
treating  of  the  condition  of  the  several  tribes  they  will  be  assigned  to  the 
particular  period  to  which  they  severally  belong  under  this  classification. 

I regret  to  add  that  I have  not  been  able,  from  failing  health,  to  give 
to  this  manuscript  the  continuous  thought  which  a work  of  any  kind  should 
receive  from  its  author.  But  I could  not  resist  the  invitation  of  my  friend 
Major  J.  W.  Powell,  the  Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  to  put  these 
chapters  together  as  well  as  I might  be  able,  that  they  might  be  published 
by  that  Bureau.  As  it  will  undoubtedly  be  my  last  work,  1 part  with  it 
under  some  solicitude  for  the  reason  named;  but  submit  it  cheerfully  to  the 
indulgence  of  my  readers. 

I am  greatly  indebted  to  my  friend  Mr.  J.  C.  Pilling,  of  the  same 
Bureau,  for  his  friendly  labor  and  care  in  correcting  the  proof  sheets,  and 
for  supervising  the  illustrations.  Such  favors  are  very  imperfectly  repaid 
by  an  author’s  thanks. 

The  late  William  W.  Ely,  M.  D.,  LL.D.,  was,  for  a period  of  more 
than  twenty-five  years,  my  cherished  friend  and  literary  adviser,  and  to  him 
I am  indebted  for  many  valuable  suggestions,  and  for  constant  encourage- 
ment in  my  labors.  The  dedication  of  this  volume  to  his  memory  is  but  a 
partial  expression  of  my  admiration  of  his  beautiful  character,  and  of  my 
appreciation  of  his  friendship. 

LEWIS  H.  MORGAN. 

Rochester,  N.  Y.,  June , 1881. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

SOCIAL  AND  GOVERNMENTAL  ORGANIZATION. 

The  Gens:  organized  upon  kin;  rights,  privileges,  and  obligations  of  its  members — The  Phratry:  its 
character  and  functions— The  Tribe : its  composition  and  attributes — The  Confederacy  of  Tribes : its 
nature,  character,  and  functions. 

CHAPTER  II. 


THE  LAW  OF  HOSPITALITY  AND  ITS  GENERAL  PRACTICE. 

Indian  tribes  in  three  dissimilar  conditions — Savage  tribes — Partially  horticultural  tribes — Village 
Indians — Usages  and  customs  affecting  their  house  life — The  law  of  hospitality  practiced  by  the 
Iroquois ; by  the  Algoukin  tribes  of  lower  Virginia ; by  the  Delawares  and  Munsees  ; by  the  tribf  s 
of  the  Missouri,  of  the  Valley  of  the  Columbia;  by  the  Dakota  tribes  of  the  Mississippi ; by  the 
Algonkin  tribes  of  Wisconsin;  by  the  Cherokees,  Choctaws,  and  Greeks ; by  the  Village  Indians  of 
New  Mexico,  of  Mexico,  of  Central  America ; by  the  tribes  of  Venezuela  ; by  the  Peruvians — Univer- 
sality of  the  usage — It  implies  communism  in  living  in  large  households. 

CHAPTER  III. 


COMMUNISM  IN  LIVING. 

A law  of  their  condition — Large  households  among  Indian  tribes — Communism  in  living  in  the  house- 
hold— Long  Houses  of  the  Iroquois — Several  families  in  a house — Communism  in  household — Long 
Houses  of  Virginia  Indians — Clustered  cabins  of  the  Creeks — Communism  iu  (lie  cluster — Hunting 
bands  on  the  plains — The  capture  a common  stock — Fishing  bauds  on  the  Columbia — The  capture 
a common  stock — Large  households  in  tribes  of  the  Columbia — Commuuism  in  Ike  household — 
Mandau  houses — Contained  several  families — Houses  of  the  Sauks  the  same— Village  Indians  of 
New  Mexico — Mayas  of  Yucatan — Their  present  communism  in  living — Large  households  of  Indians 
of  Cuba,  of  Venezuela,  of  Carthagena,  of  Peru. 

CHAPTER  IV. 


USAGES  AND  CUSTOMS  WITH  RESPECT  TO  LAND  AND  FOOD. 

Tribal  domain  owned  by  the  tribe  in  common — Possessory  right  in  individuals  and  families  to  such  land 
as  they  cultivated— Government  compensation  for  Indian  lands  paid  to  tribe ; for  improvements  to 
individuals — Apartments  of  a house  and  possessory  rights  to  lands  went  to  gentile  heirs — Tenure  of 
land  among  sedentary  Village  Indians  at  Taos,  Jemez,  and  Zufii — Among  Aztecs  or  Ancient  Mexi- 
cans, as  presented  by  Mr.  Bandelier ; in  Peru — The  usage  of  having  but  one  prepared  meal  each  day, 
a dinner — Rule  among  Northern  tribes— A breakfast  as  well  as  a dinner  claimed  for  the  Mexicans— 
Separation  at  meals,  the  men  eating  first,  and  by  themselves,  and  the  women  and  children  after- 
wards. 


IX 


X 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  V. 


HOUSES  OF  INDIAN  TRIBES  NORTH  OF  NEW  MEXICO. 

Houses  of  Indian  tribes  must  be  considered  as  parts  of  a common  system  of  construction — A common 
principle  runs  through  all  its  forms;  that  of  adaptation  to  communism  in  living  within  the  house- 
hold— It  explains  this  architecture — Communal  houses  of  tribes  in  savagery;  in  California;  in  the 
valley  of  the  Yukon ; in  the  valley  of  the  Columbia—  Communal  house  of  tribes  in  the  lower  status 
of  barbarism — Ojibwa  lodge — Dakota  skin  tent — Long  houses  of  Virginia  Indians;  of  Nyach  tribe 
on*Long  Island;  of  Seneca-Iroquois ; of  Onondaga-Iroquois — Dirt.  Lodge  of  Mandans  and  Minne- 
tarees — Thatched  houses  of  Maricopas  and  Mohaves  of  the  Colorado ; of  the  Pimas  of  the  Gila — 
What  a comparisou  shows. 

CHAPTER  VI. 


HOUSES  OF  THE  SEDENTARY  INDIANS  OF  NEW  MEXICO. 

Improved  character  of  houses — The  defensive  principle  incorporated  in  their  plan  of  the  Houses— Their 
joint  tenemeut  character — Two  or  more  stories  high — Improved  apparel,  pottery,  and  fabrics — 
Pueblo  of  Santo  Domingo  ; of  adobe  bricks — Built  in  terraced  town — Ground  story  closed — Terraces 
reached  by  ladders — Booms  entered  through  trap-doors  in  ceilings — Pueblo  of  Zuni—  Ceiling — Water- 
jars  and  hand-mill — Mold  pueblo — Boom  in  same — Ceiling  like  that  at  Zuni — Pueblo  of  Taos — 
Estufas  for  holding  councils— Size  of  adobes — Of  doorways — Window-openings  and  trap-doorways 
— Present  governmental  organization — Boom  in  pueblo — Fire-places  and  chimneys  of  modern  intro- 
duction— Present  ownership  and  inheritance  of  property— Village  Indians  have  declined  since  their 
discovery — Sun  worship — The  Montezuma  religion — Seclusion  from  religious  motives. 

CHAPTER  VII. 


HOUSES  IN  RUINS  OF  THE  SEDENTARY  INDIANS  OF  THE  SAN  JUAN  RIVER  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES. 

Pueblos  in  stone — The  best  structures  in  New  Mexico — Buins  in  the  valley  of  the  Chaco — Exploration 
of  Lieut.  J.  H.  Simpson  in  1849;  of  William  H.  Jackson  in  1877 — Map  of  valley — Ground  plans — 
Pueblo  Pintado  and  Weje-gi — Constructed  of  tabular  pieces  of  sandstone — Estufas  and  their  uses — 
Pueblos  Una  Vida  and  Hungo  Pavie — Eestoration  of  Ilungo  Pavie — Pueblo  of  Chettro-Kettle — 
Boom  in  same — Form  of  ceiling — Pueblo  Bonito — Boom  in  same — Eestoration  of  Pueblo— Pueblo 
del  Arroyo — Pueblo  Penasca  Blanca — Seven  large  pueblos  and  two  smaller  ones — Pueblo  Alto  with- 
out the  valley  on  table  land  on  the  north  side— Probably  the  “ Seven  Cities  of  Cibola’’ of  Coronado’s 
Expedition — Seasons  for  supposition — The  pueblos  constructed  gradually — Bemarkable  appear- 
ance of  the  valley  when  inhabited. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

HOUSES  IN  RUINS  OF  THE  SEDENTARY  INDIANS  OF  THE  SAN  JUAN  RIVER  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES — (Con- 
tinued. ) 

Buins  of  stone  pueblo  on  Animas  Biver — Ground  plan — Each  room  faced  with  stone,  showing  natural 
face's — Constructed  like  those  in  Chaco — Adobe  mortar — Its  composition  and  efficiency — Lime 
unknown  in  New  Mexico — Gypsum  mortar  probably  used  in  New  Mexico  and  Central  America — 
Cedar  poles  used  as  lintels — Cedar  beams  used  as  joists — Estufas  ; neither  tire-places  nor  chimneys — 
The  House  a fortress — Second  stone  pueblo — Six  other  pueblos  in  ruins  near — The  Montezuma  Valley 
— Niue  pueblos  in  ruins  in  a cluster — Diagram— Buins  of  stone  pueblo  near  Ute  Mountain — Outline  of 
plan — Bound  tower  of  stone  with  three,  concentric  walls — Incorporated  in  pueblo — Another  round 
tower — With  two  concentric  walls— Stands  isolated — Other  ruins — San  Juan  district  as  an  original 
centre  of  this  Indian  culture — Mound-Builders  probable  emigrants  from  this  region— Historical 
tribes  of  Mexico  emigrants  from  same — Indian  migrations — Made  under  control  of  physical  causes. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


XI 


CHAPTER  IX 


HOUSES  OF  THE  MOUND-BUILDERS. 

Area  of  tlieir  occupation — Their  condition  that  of  Village  Indians — Probably  immigrants  from  New 
Mexico — Character  of  their  earthworks — Embankments  enclosing  squares — Probable  sites  of  their 
houses — Adapted,  as  elevated  platforms,  1o  Long  Houses — High  bank  works — Capacity  of  embank- 
ments— Conjectural  restoration  of  this  pueblo — Other  embankments— Their  probable  uses — Artificial 
clay  beds  under  grave-mounds — Probably  used  for  cremation  of  chiefs — Probable  numbers  of  the 
Mound-Builders — Failure  of  attempt  to  transplant  this  type  of  village  life  to  the  Ohio  Valley — 
Their  withdrawal  probably  voluntary. 

CHAPTER  X. 


HOUSES  OF  THE  AZTECS  OR  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 

First  accounts  of  Pueblo  of  Mexico — Their  extravagance — Later  American  exaggerations — Kings  and 
emperors  made  out  of  sachems  aud  war-chiefs — Ancient  society  awakens  curiosity  and  wonder — 
Aztec  government  a confederacy  of  three  Indian  tribes — Pueblo  of  Mexico  in  an  artificial  lake — 
Joint-tenement  houses — Several  families  in  each  house — Houses  in  Cuba  and  Central  America — 
Aztec  houses  not  fully  explained — Similar  to  those  in  New  Mexico — Communism  in  living  probable 
— Cortez  in  Pueblo  of  Mexico — His  quarters — Explanation  of  Diaz — Of  Herrera — Of  Bandelier — 
House  occupied  by  Montezuma — A communal  house— Montezuma’s  dinuer — According  to  Diaz— To 
Cortez — To  Herrera — To  H.  II.  Bancroft — Excessive  exaggerations — Dinner  in  common  by  a com- 
munal household — Bandelier’s  “Social  Organization  and  Mode  of  Government  of  the  Ancient 
Mexicans.” 

CHAPTER  XI. 

RUINS  OF  HOUSES  OF  THE  SEDENTARY  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 

Pueblos  in  Yucatan  and  Central  America — Their  situation — Their  house  architecture — Highest  type  of 
aboriginal  architecture — Pueblos  were  occupied  when  discovered — Uxmal  houses  erected  on  pyra- 
midal elevations — Governor’s  house — Character  of  its  architecture — House  of  the  Nuns — Triangular 
ceiling  of  stone — Absence  of  chimneys — No  cooking  done  within  the  house — Their  communal  plan 
evidently  joint-tenement  houses — Present  communism  of  Mayas — Presumptively  inherited  from 
their  ancestors — Ruins  of  Zayi — The  closed  house — Apartments  constructed  over  a core  of  masonry 
— Palenqne — Mr.  Stephens’  misconception  of  these  ruins — Whether  the  post  and  lintel  of  stone 
were  used  as  principles  of  construction1?— Plan  of  all  these  houses  communal — Also  fortresses — 
Palenqne  Indians  flat-heads — American  ethnography — General  conclusions. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page. 

Frontispiece. — Zuni  Water  Carrier. 

Fig.  1.  Earth  Lodges  of  the  Sacramento  Valley to  face  page  10(5 

Fig.  2.  Galliuomero  Thatched  Lodge to  face  page  106 

Fig.  3.  Muidu  Lodge  in  the  high  Sierra  - to  face  page  108 

Fig.  4.  Ydlmts  Tule  Lodges to  face  page  108 

Fig.  5.  Kutchin  Lodge 109 

Fig.  6.  Ground-plan  of  Necrchokioo 110 

Fig.  7.  Frame  of  Ojibwa  Wig-e-wam 113 

Fig.  8.  Dakota  Wiika-yo,  or  Skin  Tent 114 

Fig.  9.  Village  of  Pomeiock  115 

Fig.  10.  Village  of  Secotan to  face  page  116 

Fig.  11.  Interior  of  House  of  Virginia  Indians 117 

Fig.  12.  Ho-d6-no-sote  of  the  Seneea-Iroquois 119 

Fig.  13.  Ground-plan  of  Seneea-Iroquois  Long-House 120 

Fig.  14.  Bartram’s  ground-plan  and  cross-section  of  Onondaga  Long-House 123 

Fig.  15.  Palisaded  Onondaga  Village to  face  page  124 

Fig.  16.  Mandan  Villago  Plot 126 

Fig.  17.  Ground-plan  of  Mandan  House 126 

Fig.  18.  Cross-section  of  Mandan  House 127 

Fig.  19.  Mandan  House 128 

Fig.  20.  Mandan  Drying-Scaffold.  129 

Fig.  21.  Mandan  Ladder 129 

Fig.  22.  Pueblo  of  Santo  Domingo to  face  page  136 

Fig.  23.  Pueblo  of  Zuni to  face  page  138 , 

Fig.  24.  Room  in  Zuni  House to  face  page  140 

Fig.  25.  Pueblo  of  Wolpi to  face  page  142 

Fig.  26.  Room  in  Moki  House 143 

Fig.  27.  North  Pueblo  ot  Taos  to  face  page  144 

Fig.  28.  Room  in  Pueblo  of  Taos y. to  face  page  148 

Fig.  29.  Map  of  a porlion  of  Chaco  Canon to  face  page  156 

Fig.  30.  Ground-plans  ol  Pueblos  Pintada  and  Wejegi to  face  page  158 

Fig.  31.  Ground-plans  of  Pueblos  of  Una  Vida  and  Hungo  Pavie to  face  page  160 

Fig.  32.  Restoration  of  Pueblo  Hungo  Pavie to  face  page  161 

Fig.  33.  Ground-plan  of  Pueblo  Chettro  Kettle  to  face  page  162 

Fig.  34.  Interior  of  a Room  in  Pueblo  Chettro  Kettle to  face  page  162 

Fig.  35.  Ground-plan  of  Pueblo  Bonito to  face  page  163 

I ig.  36.  Room  in  Pueblo  Bonito  — .... .... .........  ...................  ...  to  face  page  164 

Fig.  37.  Restoration  of  Pueblo  Bonito to  face  page  164 

Fig.  38.  Ground-plan  of  Pueblo  del  Arroyo to  face  page  164 

Fig.  39.  Ground-plan  of  Pueblo  Penasca  Blanca to  face  page  166 

Fig.  40.  Ground-plan  of  the  Pueblo  on  Animas  River 173 

Fig.  41.  Stone  from  Doorway IbO 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


XIV 

Pi>gC. 

Fig.  41a.  A finished  block  of  Sandstone  (for  comparison  with  Fig.  41) 180 

Fig.  42.  Section  of  Cedar  Lintel 181 

Fig.  43.  Outline  of  Stone  Pueblo  on  Animas  River 185 

Fig.  44.  Pueblos  at,  commencement  of  McElino  Canon... 189 

Fig.  45.  Outline  plan  of  Stone  Pueblo  near  base  of  Ute  Mountain 190 

Fig.  40.  Ground-plan  of  High  Bank  Pueblo to  face  page  208 

Fig.  47.  Restoration  of  High  Bank  Pueblo to  face  page  210 

Fig.  48.  Ground-plan  and  sections  of  house,  High  Bank  Pueblo  to  face  page  211 

Fig.  49.  Mound  with  artificial  clay  basin 216 

Fig.  50.  Side  elevation  of  Pyramidal  Platform  of  Governor’s  House 258 

Fig.  51.  Governor’s  House  at  Uxmal to  face  page  260 

Fig.  52.  Ground-plan  of  Governor’s  House,  Uxmal to  face  page  260 

Fig.  53.  Ground-plan  of  the  House  of  the  Nuns 261 

Fig.  54.  Section  of  room  in  House  of  the  Nuns to  face  page  262 

Fig.  55.  Ground-plan  of  Zayi 265 

Fig.  56.  Cross- sect  ion  through  one  apartment to  face  page  266 


HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERI- 
CAN ABORIGINES. 


BY  LEWIS  H.  MORGAN. 


CHAPTER  I. 

SOCIAL  AND  GOVERNMENTAL  ORGANIZATION. 

In  a previous  work*  I have  considered  the  organization  of  the  Ameri- 
can aborigines  in  gentes,  phratries,  and  tribes,  with  the  functions  of  each  in 
their  social  system.  From  the  importance  of  this  organization  to  a right 
understanding  of  their  social  and  governmental  life,  a recapitulation  of  the 
principal  features  of  each  member  of  the  organic  series  is  necessary  in  this 
connection. 

The  gentile  organization  opens  to  us  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  widely- 
prevalent  institutions  of  mankind.  It  furnished  the  nearly  universal  plan 
of  government  of  ancient  society,  Asiatic,  European,  African,  American, 
and  Australian.  It  was  the  instrumentality  by  means  of  which  society  was 
organized  and  held  together.  Commencing  in  savagery,  and  continuing 
through  the  three  subperiods  of  barbarism,  it  remained  until  the  establish- 
ment of  political  society,  which  did  not  occur  until  after  civilization  had 
commenced.  The  Grecian  gens,  phratry,  and  tribe,  the  Roman  gens,  curia , 
and  tribe  find  their  analogues  in  the  gens,  phratry,  and  tribe  of  the  Ameri- 
can aborigines.  In  like  manner  the  Irish  sept,  the  Scottish  clan , the  phrara 
of  the  Albanians,  and  the  Sanskrit  (janas,  without  extending  the  comparison 
further,  are  the  same  as  the  American  Indian  gens,  which  has  usually  been 

* “Ancient  Society  ; or,  Researches  in  the  Lines  of  Human  Progress  from  Savagery  through  Bar- 
barism to  Civilization.”  Henry  Holt  & Co.  1877, 


2 HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


called  a clan.  As  far  as  our  knowledge  extends,  this  organization  runs 
through  the  entire  ancient  world  upon  all  the  continents,  audit  was  brought 
down  to  the  historical  period  by  such  tribes  as  attained  to  civilization.  Nor 
is  this  all.  Gentile  society  wherever  found  is  the  same  in  structural  organi- 
zation and  in  principles  of  action  ; but  changing  from  lower  to  higher  forms 
with  the  progressive  advancement  of  the  people.  These  changes  give  the 
history  of  development  of  the  same  original  conceptions. 


THE  GENS. 

Gens,  ytro?,  and  ganas  in  Latin,  Greek,  and  Sanskrit  have  alike  the 
primary  signification  of  kin.  They  contain  the  same  element  as  gigno , 
yiyvojua? } and  gammed,  in  the  same  languages,  signifying  to  beget;  thus 
implying  in  each  an  immediate  common  descent  of  the  members  of  a gens. 
A gens,  therefore,  is  a body  of  consanguinei  descended  from  the  same  com- 
mon ancestor,  distinguished  by  a gentile  name,  and  bound  together  by  affini- 
ties of  blood.  It  includes  a moiety  only  of  such  descendants.  Where 
descent  is  in  the  female  line,  as  it  was  universally  in  the  archaic  period, 
the  gens  is  composed  of  a supposed  female  ancestor  and  her  children,  to- 
gether with  the  children  of  her  female  descendants,  through  females,  in  per- 
petuity; and  where  descent  is  in  the  male  line — into  which  it  was  changed 
after  the  appearance  of  property  in  masses — of  a supposed  male  ancestor 
and  his  children,  together  with  the  children  of  his  male  descendants,  through 
males,  in  perpetuity.  The  family  name  among  ourselves  is  a survival  of 
the  gentile  name,  with  descent  in  the  male  line,  and  passing  in  the  same 
manner.  The  modern  family,  as  expressed  by  its  name,  is  an  unorganized 
gens,  with  the  bond  of  kin  broken,  and  its  members  as  widely  dispersed  as 
the  family  name  is  found. 

Among  the  nations  named,  the  gens  indicated  a social  organization  of 
a remarkable  character,  which  had  prevailed  from  an  antiquity  so  remote 
that  its  origin  was  lost  in  the  obscurity  of  far  distant  ages.  It  was  also  the 
unit  of  organization  of  a social  and  governmental  system,  the  fundamental 
basis  of  ancient  society.  This  organization  was  not  confined  to  the  Latin, 


MORGAN.] 


THE  GENS  FOUNDED  UPON  KIN. 


3 


Grecian,  and  Sanskrit  speaking  tribes,  with  whom  it  became  such  a conspic- 
uous institution.  It  has  been  found  in  other  branches  of  the  Aryan  family 
of  nations,  in  the  Semitic,  Uralian,  and  Turanian  families,  among  the  tribes 
of  Africa  and  Australia,  and  of  the  American  aborigines. 

The  gens  has  passed  through  successive  stages  of  development  in  its. 
transition  from  its  archaic  to  its  final  form  with  the  progress  of  mankind. 
These  changes  were  limited  in  the  main  to  two : firstly,  changing  descent 
from  the  female  line,  which  was  the  archaic  rule,  as  among  the  Iroquois, 
to  the  male  line,  which  was  the  final  rule,  as  among  the  Grecian  and  Roman 
gentes ; and,  secondly, ' changing  the  inheritance  of  the  property  of  a 
deceased  member  of  the  gens  from  his  gentiles,  who  took  it  in  the  archaic 
period,  first  to  his  agnatic  kindred,  and  finally  to  his  children.  These 
changes,  slight  as  they  may  seem,  indicate  very  great  changes  of  condition 
as  well  as  a large  degree  of  progressive  development. 

The  gentile  organization,  originating  in  the  period  of  savagery,  endur- 
ing through  the  three  subperiods  of  barbarism,  finally  gave  way,  among 
the  more  advanced  tribes,  when  they  attained  civilization — the  requirements 
of  which  it  was  unable  to  meet.  Among  the  Greeks  and  Romans  political 
society  supervened  upon  gentile  society,  but  not  until  civilization  had  com- 
menced. The  township  (and  its  equivalent,  the  city  ward),  with  its  fixed 
property,  and  the  inhabitants  it  contained,  organized  as  a body  politic, 
became  the  unit  and  the  basis  of  a new  and  radically  different  system  of 
government.  After  political  society  was  instituted  this  ancient  and  time- 
honored  organization,  with  the  phratry  and  tribe  developed  from  it,  gradu- 
ally yielded  up  their  existence.  It  was  under  gentile  institutions  that 
barbarism  was  won  by  some  of  the  tribes  of  mankind  while  in  savagery, 
and  that  civilization  was  won  by  the  descendants  of  some  of  the  same  tribes 
while  in  barbarism.  Gentile  institutions  carried  a portion  of  mankind  from 
savagery  to  civilization. 

This  organization  may  be  successfully  studied  both  in  its  living  and  in 
its  historical  forms  in  a large  number  of  tribes  and  races.  In  such  an  in- 
vestigation it  is  preferable  to  commence  with  the  gens  in  its  archaic  form. 

I shall  commence,  therefore,  with  the  gens  as  it  now  exists  among  the 
American  aborigines,  where  it  is  found  in  its  archaic  form,  and  among  whom 


4 HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


its  theoretical  constitution  and  practical  workings  can  be  investigated  more 
successfully  than  in  the  historical  gentes  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  In 
fact,  to  understand  fully  the  gentes  of  the  latter  nations  a knowledge  of  the 
functions  and  of  the  rights,  privileges,  and  obligations  of  the  members  of 
the  American  Indian  gens  is  imperatively  necessary. 

In  American  ethnography  tribe  and  clan  have  been  used  in  the  place 
of  gens  as  equivalent  terms  from  not  perceiving  the  universality  of  the 
latter.  In  previous  works,  and  following  my  predecessors,  I have  so  used 
them.  A comparison  of  the  Indian  clan  with  the  gens  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  reveals  at  once  their  identity  in  structure  and  functions.  It  also 
extends  to  the  phratry  and  tribe.  If  the  identity  of  these  several  organiza- 
tions can  be  shown,  of  which  there  can  be  no  doubt,  there  is  a manifest 
propriety  in  returning  to  the  Latin  and  Grecian  terminologies,  which  are 
full  and  precise  as  well  as  historical. 

The  plan  of  government  of  the  American  aborigines  commenced  with 
the  gens  and  ended  with  the  confederacy,  the  latter  being  the  highest  point 
to  which  their  governmental  institutions  attained.  It  gave  for  the  organic 
series : first,  the  gens,  a body  of  consanguinei  having  a common  gentile 
name  ; second,  the  phratry,  an  assemblage  of  related  gentes  united  in  a 
higher  association  for  certain  common  objects  ; third,  the  tribe,  an  assem- 
blage of  gentes,  usually  organized  in  phratries,  all  the  members  of  which 
spoke  the  same  dialect ; and  fourth,  a confederacy  of  tribes,  the  members 
of  which  respectively  spoke  dialects  of  the  same  stock  language.  It 
resulted  in  a gentile  society  ( societas ) as  distinguished  from  a political 
society  or  state  ( civitas ).  The  difference  between  the  two  is  wide  and  fun- 
damental. There  was  neither  a political  society,  nor  a citizen,  nor  a state, 
nor  any  civilization  in  America  when  it  was  discovered.  One  entire  ethnical 
period  intervened  between  the  highest  American  Indian  tribes  and  the 
beginning  of  civilization,  as  that  term  is  properly  understood. 

The  gens,  though  a very  ancient  social  organization  founded  upon  kin, 
does  not  include  all  the  descendants  of  a common  ancestor.  It  was  for  the 
reason  that  when  the  gens  came  in  marriage  between  single  pairs  was 
unknown,  and  descent  through  males  could  not  be  traced  with  certainty. 
Kindred  were  linked  together  chiefly  through  the  bond  of  their  maternity. 


MORGAN.) 


DESCENT  IN  FEMALE  LINE  IN  ARCHAIC  PERIOD. 


5 

In  the  ancient  gens  descent  was  limited  to  the  female  line  It  embraced  all 
such  persons  as  traced  their  descent  from  a supposed  common  female 
ancestor,  through  females,  the  evidence  of  the  fact  being  the  possession  of 
a common  gentile  name.  It  would  include  this  ancestor  and  her  children, 
the  children  of  her  daughters,  and  the  children  of  her  female  descendants, 
through  females,  in  perpetuity,  while  the  children  of  her  sons  and  the 
children  of  her  male  descendants,  through  males,  would  belong  to  other 
gentes,  namely,  those  of  their  respective  mothers.  Such  was  the  gens  in 
its  archaic  form,  when  the  paternity  of  children  was  not  certainly  ascer- 
tainable, and  when  their  maternity  afforded  the  only  certain  criterion  of 
descents. 

This  state  of  descents  which  can  be  traced  back  to  the  Middle  Status 
of  savagery,  as  among  the  Australians,  remained  among  the  American 
aborigines  through  the  Upper  Status  of  savagery,  and  into  and  through 
the  Lower  Status  of  barbarism,  with  occasional  exceptions.  In  the  Middle 
Status  of  barbarism  the  Indian  tribes  began  to  change  descent  from  the 
female  line  to  the  male,  as  the  syndyasmian  family  of  the  period  began  to 
assume  monogamian  characteristics.  In  the  Upper  Status  of  barbarism 
descent  had  become  changed  to  the  male  line  among  the  Grecian  tribes,  with 
the  exception  of  the  Lycians,  and  among  the  Italian  tribes,  with.the  exception 
of  the  Etruscans.  Between  the  two  extremes,  represented  by  the  two  rules 
of  descent,  three  entire  ethnical  periods  intervene,  covering  many  thou- 
sands of  years. 

As  intermarriage  in  the  gens  was  prohibited,  it  withdrew  its  members 
from  the  evils  of  consanguine  marriages,  and  thus  tended  to  increase  the 
vigor  of  the  stock.  The  gens  came  into  being  upon  three  principal  con- 
ceptions, namely,  the  bond  of  kin,  a pure  lineage  through  descent  in  the 
female  line,  and  non-intermarriage  in  the  gens.  When  the  idea  of  a gens  was 
developed,  it  would  naturally  have  taken  the  form  of  gentes  in  pairs,  because 
the  children  of  the  males  were  excluded,  and  because  it  was  equally  necessary 
to  organize  both  classes  of  descendants.  With  two  gentes  started  into  being 
simultaneously  the  whole  result  would  have  been  attained,  since  the  males 
and  females  of  one  gens  would  marry  the  females  and  males  of  the  other, 
and  the  children,  following  the  gentes  of  their  respective  mothers,  would  be 


6 


HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


divided  between  them.  Resting  on  the  bond  of  kin  as  its  cohesive  prin- 
ciple, the  gens  afforded  to  each  individual  member  that  personal  protection 
which  no  other  existing  power  could  give'. 

After  enumerating  the  rights,  privileges,  and  obligations  of  its  members, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  follow  the  gens  in  its  organic  relations  to  a phratry 
tribe  and  confederacy,  in  order  to  find  the  uses  to  which  it  was  applied,  the 
privileges  which  it  conferred,  and  the  principles  which  it  fostered.  The 
gentes  of  the  Iroquois  will  be  taken  as  the  standard  exemplification  of  this 
institution  in  the  Ganowanian  family.  They  had  carried  their  scheme  of 
government  from  the  gens  to  the  confederacy,  making  it  complete  in  each 
of  its  parts,  and  an  excellent  illustration  of  the  capabilities  of  the  gentile 
organization  in  its  archaic  form. 

When  discovered  the  Iroquois  were  in  the  Lower  Status  of  barbarism, 
and  well  advanced  in  the  arts  of  life  pertaining  to  this  condition.  They 
manufactured  nets,  twine,  and  rope  from  filaments  of  bark;  wove  belts  and 
burden  straps,  with  warp  and  woof  from  the  same  materials ; they  manu- 
factured earthen  vessels  and  pipes  from  clay  mixed  with  silicious  materials 
and  hardened  by  fire,  some  of  which  were  ornamented  with  rude  medallions; 
they  cultivated  maize,  beans,  squashes,  and  tobacco  in  garden  beds,  and 
made  unleavened  bread  from  pounded  maize,  which  they  boiled  in  earthen 
vessels;*  they  tanned  skins  into  leather,  with  which  they  manufactured  kilts, 
leggins,  and  moccasins;  they  used  the  bow  and  arrow  and  war-club  as  their 
principal  weapons ; used  flint-stone  and  bone  implements,  wore  skin  gar- 
ments, and  were  expert  hunters  and  fishermen.  They  constructed  long 
joint  tenement  houses,  large  enough  to  accommodate  five,  ten,  and  twenty 
families,  and  each  household  practiced  communism  in  living,  but  they  were 
unacquainted  with  the  use  of  stone  or  adobe-brick  in  house  architecture, 
and  with  the  use  of  the  native  metals.  In  mental  capacity  and  in  general 
advancement  they  were  the  representative  branch  of  the  Indian  family 
north  of  New  Mexico.  General  F.  A.  Walker  has  sketched  their  military 
career  in  two  paragraphs  : “ The  career  of  the  Iroquois  was  simply  terrific. 
They  were  the  scourge  of  God  upon  the  aborigines  of  the  continent.”! 


These  loaves  or  cakes  were  about  six  inches  in  diameter  and  an  inch  thick, 
t North  American  Bevicw,  April  No.,  1873,  p.  370,  Note. 


MORGAN.] 


GENTES  USUALLY  NAMED  AFTER  ANIMALS. 


7 


From  lapse  of  time  the  Iroquois  tribes  have  come  to  differ  slightly  in 
the  number  and  in  the  names  of  their  respective  gentes,  the  largest  number 


being 

eight,  as 

follows  : 

Senecas. 

Cayugas. 

Onondaqas.  Oneidas. 

Mohawks. 

Tuscaroras. 

1 

Wolf. 

Wolf. 

Wolf.  ' Wolf. 

Wolf. 

Gray  Wolf. 

2 

Bear. 

Bear. 

Bear.  Bear. 

Bear. 

Bear. 

3 

Turtle. 

Turtle. 

Turtle  Turtle. 

Turtle. 

Great  Turtle. 

4 

Beaver. 

Beaver. 

Beaver. 

Beaver. 

5 

Deer. 

Deer. 

Deer. 

Yellow  Wolf. 

6 . — 

Snipe. 

Snipe. 

Snipe. 

Snipe. 

7 

Heron. 

Eel. 

Eel. 

Eel. 

8.:.. 

Hawk. 

Hawk. 

Ball. 

Little  Turtle. 

These  changes  show  that  certain  gentes  in  some  of  the  tribes  have 
become  extinct  through  the  vicissitudes  of  time,  and  that  others  have  been 
formed  by  the  segmentation  of  over-full  gentes. 

With  a knowledge  of  the  rights,  privileges,  and  obligations  of  the 
members  of  a gens,  its  capabilities  as  the  unit  of  a social  and  governmental 
system  will  be  more  fully  understood,  as  well  as  the  manner  in  which  it 
entered  into  the  higher  organizations  of  the  phratry,  tribe,  and  confederacy. 

The  gens  is  individualized  by  the  following  rights,  privileges,  and  obli- 
gations conferred  and  imposed  upon  its  members,  and  which  made  up  the 
jus  gentiliciwm : 

I.  The  right  of  electing  its  sachem  and  chiefs. 

II.  The  right  of  deposing  its  sachem  and  chiefs. 

III.  The  obligation  not  to  marry  in  the  gens. 

IV.  Mutual  rights  of  inheritance  of  the  property  of  deceased  members. 

Y.  Reciprocal  obligations  of  help,  defense,  and  redress  of  injuries 

VI.  The  right  of  bestowing  names  upon  its  members. 

VII.  The  right  of  adopting  strangers  into  the  gens. 

VIII.  Common  religious  rites. 

IX.  A common  burial  place. 

X.  A council  of  the  gens. 

These  functions  and  attributes  gave  vitality  as  well  as  individuality  to 
the  organization,  and  protected  the  personal  rights  of  its  members. 


8 HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


Such  were  the  rights,  privileges,  and  obligations  of  the  members  of  an 
Iroquois  gens;  and  such  were  those  of  the  members  of  the  gentes  of  the 
Indian  tribes  generally,  as  far  as  the  investigation  has  been  carried. 

For  a detailed  exposition  of  these  characteristics  the  reader  is  referred 
to  Ancient  Society , pp.  72-85. 

All  the  members  of  an  Iroquois  gens  were  personally  free,  and  they 
were  bound  to  defend  each  other’s  freedom ; they  were  equal  in  privileges 
and  in  personal  rights,  the  sachem  and  chiefs  claiming  no  superiority ; and 
they  were  a brotherhood  bound  together  by  the  ties  of  kin.  Liberty, 
equality,  and  fraternity,  though  never  formulated,  were  cardinal  principles 
of  the  gens.  These  facts  are  material,  because  the  gens  was  the  unit  of  a 
social  and  governmental  system,  the  foundation  upon  which  Indian  society 
was  organized.  A structure  composed  of  such  units  would  of  necessity 
bear  the  impress  of  their  character,  for  as  the  unit  so  the  compound.  It 
serves  to  explain  that  sense  of  independence  and  personal  dignity  univer- 
sally an  attribute  of  Indian  character. 

Thus  substantial  and  important  in  the  social  system  was  the  gens  as  it 
anciently  existed  among  the  American  aborigines,  and  as  it  still  exists  in 
full  vitality  in  many  Indian  tribes.  It  was  the  basis  of  the  phratry,  of  the 
tribe,  and  of  the  confederacy  of  tribes. 

At  the  epoch  of  European  discovery  the  American  Indian  tribes  gen- 
erally were  organized  in  gentes,  with  descent  in  the  female  line.  In  some 
tribes,  as  among  the  Dakotas,  the  gentes  had  fallen  out;  in  others,  as 
among  the  Ojibwas,  the  Omahas,  and  the  Mayas  of  Yucatan,  descent  had 
been  changed  from  the  female  to  the  male  line  Throughout  aboriginal 
America  the  gens  took  its  name  from  some  animal  or  inanimate  object  and 
never  from  a person.  In  this  early  condition  of  society  the  individuality 
of  persons  was  lost  in  the  gens.  It  is  at  least  presumable  that  the  gentes 
of  the  Grecian  and  Latin  tribes  were  so  named  at  some  anterior  period ; 
but  when  they  first  came  under  historical  notice  they  were  named  after 
persons.  In  some  of  the  tribes,  as  the  Moki  Ahllage  Indians  of  Arizona, 
the  members  of  the  gens  claimed  their  descent  from  the  animal  whose 
name  they  bore — their  remote  ancestors  having  been  transformed  by  the 
Great  Spirit  from  the  animal  into  the  human  form.  The  Crane  gens  of 


MORGAN.) 


NUMBER  OF  PERSONS  IN  A GENS. 


9 


the  Ojibwas  have  a similar  legend.  In  some  tribes  the  members  of  a gens 
will  not  eat  the  animal  whose  name  they  bear,  in  which  they  are  doubtless 
influenced  by  this  consideration. 

With  respect  to  the  number  of  persons  in  a gens,  it  varied  with  the 
number  of  the  gentes,  and  with  the  prosperity  or  decadence  of  the  tribe. 
Three  thousand  Senecas  divided  equally  among  eight  gentes  would  give  an 
average  of  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  persons  to  a gens.  Fifteen 
thousand  Ojibwas  divided  equally  among  twenty-three  gentes  would  give 
six  hundred  and  fifty  persons  to  a gens.  The  Cherokees  would  average 
more  than  a thousand  to  a gens  In  the  present  condition  of  the  principal 
Indian  tribes  the  number  of  persons  in  each  gens  would  range  from  one 
hundred  to  a thousand. 

One  of  the  oldest  and  most  widely' prevalent  institutions  of  mankind, 
the  gentes  have  been  closely  identified  with  human  progress  upon  which 
they  have  exercised  a powerful  influence.  They  have  been  found  in  tribes 
in  the  Status  of  savagery,  in  the  Lower,  in  the  Middle,  and  in  the  Upper 
Status  of  barbarism  on  different  continents,  and  in  full  vitality  in  the  Gre- 
cian and  Latin  tribes  after  civilization  had  commenced.  Every  family  of 
mankind,  except  the  Polynesian,  seems  to  have  come  under  the  gentile 
organization,  and  to  have  been  indebted  to  it  for  preservation  and  for  the 
means  of  progress.  It  finds  its  only  parallel  in  length  of  duration  in  sys- 
tems of  consanguinity,  which,  springing  up  at  a still  earlier  period,  have 
remained  to  the  present  time,  although  the  marriage  usages  in  which  they 
originated  have  long  since  disappeared. 

From  its  early  institution,  and  from  its  maintenance  through  such 
immense  stretches  of  time,  the  peculiar  adaptation  of  the  gentile  organiza- 
tion to  mankind,  while  in  a savage  and  in  a barbarous  state,  must  be 
regarded  as  abundantly  demonstrated. 

O J 


THE  PHRATRY. 

The  phratry  (<p parp/a ) is  a brotherhood,  as  the  term  imports,  and  a 
natural  growth  from  the  organization  into  gentes.  It  is  an  organic  union 
or  association  of  two  or  more  gentes  of  the  same  tribe  for  certain  common 


10  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE  LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


objects.  These  gentes  were  usually  such  as  had  been  formed  by  the  seg- 
mentation of  an  original  gens. 

The  pliratry  existed  in  a large  number  of  the  tribes  of  the  American 
aborigines,  where  it  is  seen  to  arise  by  natural  growth,  and  to  stand  as  the 
second  member  of  the  organic  series,  as  among  the  Grecian  and  Latin 
tribes.  It  did  not  possess  original  governmental  functions,  as  the  gens 
tribe  and  confederacy  possessed  them ; but  it  was  endowed  with  certain 
useful  powers  in  the  social  system,  from  the  necessity  for  some  organization 
larger  than  a gens  and  smaller  than  a tribe,  and  especially  when  the  tribe 
was  large.  The  same  institution  in  essential  features  and  in  character,  it 
presents  the  organization  in  its  archaic  form  and  with  its  archaic  functions. 
A knowledge  of  the  Indian  pliratry  is  necessary  to  an  intelligent  under- 
standing of  the  Grecian  and  the  Roman. 

The  eight  gentes  of  the  Seneca-Iroquois  tribe  were  reintegrated  in  two 
phratries,  as  follows : 

First  Pliratry. 

Gentes. — 1.  Bear.  2.  Wolf.  3.  Beaver.  4.  Turtle. 

Second  Pliratry. 

Gentes. — 5.  Deer.  6.  Snipe.  7.  Heron.  8.  Hawk. 

Each  phratry  (De-a-non-da/-a-yoh)  is  a brotherhood,  as  this  term  also 
imports.  The  gentes  in  the  same  phratry  are  brother  gentes  to  each  other, 
and  cousin  gentes  to  those  of  the  other  phratry.  They  are  equal  in  grade, 
character,  and  privileges.  It  is  a common  practice  of  the  Senecas  to  call 
the  gentes  of  their  own  phratry  brother  gentes,  and  those  of  the  other 
phratry  their  cousin  gentes,  when  they  mention  them  in  their  relation  to 
the  phratries.  Originally  marriage  was  not  allowed  between  the  members 
of  the  same  phratry ; but  the  members  of  either  could  marry  into  any 
gens  of  the  other.  This  prohibition  tends  to  show  that  the  gentes  of  each 
phratry  were  subdivisions  of  an  original  gens,  and  therefore  the  prohibition 
against  marrying  into  a person’s  own  gens  had  followed  to  its  subdivisions. 
This  restriction,  however,  was  long  since  removed,  except  with  respect  to 
the  gens  of  the  individual.  A tradition  of  the  Senecas  affirms  that  the 
Bear  and  the  Deer  were  the  original  gentes,  of  which  the  others  were  sub- 
divisions. It  is  thus  seen  that  the  phratry  had  a natural  foundation  in  the 


MORGAN.] 


PHRATRIES  COMPOSED  OF  KINDRED  GENTES. 


11 


kinship  of  the  gentes  of  which  it  was  composed.  After  their  subdivision 
from  increase  of  numbers  there  was  a natural  tendency  to  their  reunion  in 
a higher  organization  for  objects  common  to  them  all.  The  same  gentes 
are  not  constant  in  a phratry  indefinitely,  as  appears  from  the  composition 
of  the  phratries  in  the  remaining  Iroquois  tribes.  Transfers  of  particular 
gentes  from  one  phratry  to  the  other  must  have  occurred  when  the  equi- 
librium in  their  respective  numbers  was  disturbed.  It  is  important  to 
know  the  simple  manner  in  which  this  organization  springs  up,  and  the 
facility  with  which  it  is  managed  as  a part  of  the  social  system  of  ancient 
society.  With  the  increase  of  numbers  in  a gens,  followed  by  local  sep- 
aration of  its  members,  segmentation  occurred,  and  the  seceding  portion 
adopted  a new  gentile  name.  But  a tradition  of  their  former  unity  would 
remain  and  become  the  basis  of  their  reorganization  in  a phratry. 

From  the  differences  in  the  composition  of  the  phratries  in  the  several 
tribes  it  seems  probable  that  the  phratries  are  modified  in  their  gentes  at 
intervals  of  time  to  meet  changes  of  condition.  Some  gentes  prosper  and 
increase  in  numbers,  while  others,  through  calamities,  decline,  and  others 
become  extinct ; so  that  transfers  of  gentes  from  one  phratry  to  another 
were  found  necessary  to  preserve  some  degree  of  equality  in  the  number 
of  phrators  in  each.  The  pliratric  organization  has  existed  among  the  Iro- 
quois from  time  immemorial.  It  is  probably  older  than  the  confederacy 
which  was  established  more  than  four  centuries  ago.  The  amount  of  dif- 
ference in  their  composition,  as  to  the  gentes  they  contain,  represents  the 
vicissitudes  through  which  each  tribe  has  passed  in  the  interval.  In  any 
view  of  the  matter  it  is  small,  tending  to  illustrate  the  permanence  of  the 
phratry  as  well  as  the  gens. 

The  Iroquois  tribes  had  a total  of  thirty-eight  gentes,  and  in  four  of 
the  tribes  a total  of  eight  phratries. 

The  phratry  among  the  Iroquois  was  partly  for  social  and  partly  for 
religious  objects.  Its  functions  and  uses  can  be  best  shown  by  practical 
illustrations.  We  begin  with  the  lowest,  with  games,  which  were  of  com- 
mon occurrence  at  tribal  and  confederate  councils.  In  the  ball  game,  for 
example,  among  the  Senecas,  they  play  by  phratries,  one  against  the  other; 
and  they  bet  against  each  other  upon  the  result  of  the  game.  Each  phra- 


12  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


try  puts  forward  its  best  players,  usually  from  six  to  ten  on  a side,  and  the 
members  of  each  phratry  assemble  together,  but  upon  opposite  sides  of  the 
field  in  which  the  game  is  played.  Before  it  commences,  articles  of  per- 
sonal property  are  hazarded  upon  the  result  by  members  of  the  opposite 
phratries.  These  are  deposited  with  keepers  to  abide  the  event.  The 
game  is  played  with  spirit  and  enthusiasm,  and  is  an  exciting  spectacle. 
The  members  of  each  phratry,  from  their  opposite  stations,  watch  the  game 
with  eagerness,  and  cheer  their  respective  players  at  every  successful  turn 
of  the  game.* 

Again,  when  a murder  had  been  committed  it  was  usual  for  the  gens 
of  the  murdered  person  to  meet  in  council,  and,  after  ascertaining  the  facts, 
to  take  measures  for  avenging  the  deed.  The  gens  of  the  criminal  also  held 
a council,  and  endeavored  to  effect  an  adjustment  or  condonation  of  the 
crime  with  the  gens  of  the  murdered  person ; but  it  often  happened  that  the 
gens  of  the  criminal  called  upon  the  other  gentes  of  their  phratry,  when  the 
slayer  and  the  slain  belonged  to  opposite  phratries,  to  unite  with  them  to 
obtain  a condonation  of  the  crime.  In  such  a case  the  phratry  held  a coun- 
cil, and  then  addressed  itself  to  the  other  phratry,  to  which  it  sent  a delega- 
tion with  a belt  of  white  wampum  asking  for  a council  of  the  phratry  and 
for  an  adjustment  of  the  crime.  They  offered  reparation  to  the  family  and 
gens  of  the  murdered  person  in  expressions  of  regret  and  in  presents  of 
value.  Negotiations  were  continued  between  the  two  councils  until  an 
affirmative  or  a negative  conclusion  was  reached.  The  influence  of  a phratry 
composed  of  several  gentes  would  be  greater  than  that  of  a single  gens ; 
and  by  calling  into  action  the  opposite  phratry  the  probability  of  a con- 
donation would  be  increased,  especially  if  there  were  extenuating  circum- 
stances. We  may  thus  see  how  naturally  the  Grecian  phratry,  prior  to 
civilization,  assumed  the  principal  though  not  exclusive  management  of  cases 
of  murder,  and  also  of  the  purification  of  the  murderer  if  he  escaped  pun- 
ishment, and  after  the  institution  of  political  society  with  what  propriety 
the  phratry  assumed  the  duty  of  prosecuting  the  murderer  in  the  courts  of 
justice. 

At  the  funerals  of  persons  of  recognized  importance  in  the  tribe  the 


* League  of  the  Iroquois,  p.  294. 


MORGAN.] 


PHRATRIC  ORGANIZATION  AT  FUNERALS. 


13 


phratric  organization  manifested  itself  in  a conspicuous  manner.  The 
phrators  of  the  decedent  in  a body  were  the  mourners,  and  the  members  of 
the  opposite  phraty  conducted  the  ceremonies.  At  the  funeral  of  Hand- 
some Lake  (Ga-ne-o-di'-yo),  one  of  the  eight  Seneca  sachems  (which 
occurred  some  }mars  ago),  there  was  an  assemblage  of  sachems  and  chiefs 
to  the  number  of  twenty-seven,  and  a large  concourse  of  members  of  both 
phratries.  The  customary  address  to  the  dead  body,  and  the  other  addresses 
before  the  removal  of  the  body,  were  made  b}^  members  of  the  opposite 
phratry.  After  the  addresses  were  concluded  the  body  was  borne  to  the 
grave  by  persons  selected  from  the  last  named  phratry,  followed,  first,  by 
the  sachems  and  chiefs,  then  by  the  family  and  gens  of  the  decedent,  next 
by  his  remaining  phrators,  and  last  by  the  members  of  the  opposite  phratry. 
After  the  body  had  been  deposited  in  the  grave  the  sachems  and  chiefs 
formed  in  a circle  around  it  for  the  purpose  of  filling  it  with  earth.  Each 
in  turn,  commencing  with  the  senior  in  years,  cast  in  three  shovelfuls,  a 
typical  number  in  their  religious  system,  of  which  the  first  had  relation  to 
the  Great  Spirit,  the  second  to  the  Sun,  and  the  third  to  Mother  Earth. 
When  the  grave  was  filled  the  senior  sachem,  by  a figure  of  speech, 
deposited  “the  horns”  of  the  departed  sachem,  emblematic  of  his  office, 
upon  the  top  of  the  grave  over  his  head,  there  to  remain  until  his  suc- 
cessor was  installed.  In  that  subsequent  ceremony  “the  horns”  were  said 
to  be  taken  from  the  grave  of  the  deceased  rider  and  placed  upon  the  head 
of  his  successor.  The  social  and  religious  functions  of  the  phratry,  and  its 
naturalness  in  the  organic  system  of  ancient  society,  are  rendered  apparent 
by  this  single  usage. 

The  phratry  was  also  directly  concerned  in  the  election  of  sachems 
and  chiefs  of  the  several  gentes,  upon  which  they  had  a negative  as  well  as 
a confirmative  vote.  After  the  gens  of  a deceased  sachem  had  elected  his 
successor,  or  had  elected  a chief  of  the  second  grade,  it  was  necessary,  as 
elsewhere  stated,  that  their  choice  should  be  accepted  and  confirmed  by 
each  phratry.  It  was  expected  that  the  gentes  of  the  same  phratry  would 
confirm  the  choice  almost  as  a matter  of  course,  but  the  opposite  phratry 
also  must  acquiesce,  and  from  this  source  opposition  sometimes  appeared. 
A council  of  each  phratry  was  held  and  pronounced  upon  the  question  of 


14  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


acceptance  or  rejection.  If  the  nomination  made  was  accepted  by  both  it 
became  complete,  but  if  either  refused  it  was  thereby  set  aside  and  a new 
election  was  made  by  the  gens.  When  the  choice  made  by  the  gens  had 
been  accepted  by  the  phratries  it  was  still  necessary,  as  before  stated,  that 
the  new  sachem,  or  the  new  chief,  should  be  invested  by  the  council  of  the 
confederacy,  which  alone  had  power  to  invest  with  office. 

The  phratry  was  without  governmental  functions  in  the  strict  sense  of 
the  phrase,  these  being  confined  to  the  gens  tribe  and  confederacy;  but  it 
entered  into  their  social  affairs  with  large  administrative  powers,  and  would 
have  concerned  itself  more  and  more  with  their  religious  affairs  as  the  con- 
dition of  the  people  advanced.  Unlike  the  Grecian  phratry  and  the  Roman 
curia , it  had  no  official  head.  There  was  no  chief  of  the  phratry  as  such, 
and  no  religious  functionaries  belonging  to  it  as  distinguished  from  the  gens 
and  tribe.  The  phratric  institution  among  the  Iroquois  was  in  its  rudi- 
mentary archaic  form;  but  it  grew  into  life  by  natural  and  inevitable  devel- 
opment, and  remained  permanent  because  it  met  necessary  wants.  Every 
institution  of  mankind  which  attained  permanence  will  be  found  linked 
with  a perpetual  want.  With  the  gens  tribe  and  confederacy  in  existence 
the  presence  of  the  phratry  was  substantially  assured.  It  required  time, 
however,  and  further  experience  to  manifest  all  the  uses  to  which  it  might 
be  made  subservient. 

Among  the  Village  Indians  of  Mexico  and  Central  America  the  phratry 
must  have  existed,  reasoning  upon  general  principles,  and  have  been  a more 
fully  developed  and  influential  organization  than  among  the  Iroquois.  Un- 
fortunately mere  glimpses  at  such  an  institution  are  all  that  can  be  found  in 
the  teeming  narratives  of  the  Spanish  writers  within  the  first  century  after 
the  Spanish  conquest.  The  four  “lineages”  of  the  Tlascalans  who  occu- 
pied the  four  quarters  of  the  pueblo  of  Tlascala  were,  in  all  probability,  so 
many  phratries.  They  were  sufficiently  numerous  for  four  tribes,  but  as 
they  occupied  the  same  pueblo  and  spoke  the  same  dialect  the  phratric 
organization  was  apparently  a necessity.  Each  lineage  or  phratry,  so  to 
call  it,  had  a distinct  military  organization,  a peculiar  costume  and  banner, 
and  its  head  war-chief  ( Teuctli ),  who  was  its  general  military  commander. 
They  went  forth  to  battle  by  phratries.  The  organization  of  a military 


MORGAN.] 


PHRATKY  IN  THE  MILITARY  ORGANIZATION. 


15 


force  by  phratries  and  by  tribes  was  not  unknown  to  the  Homeric  Greeks. 
Tims,  Nestor  advises  Agamemnon  to  “separate  the  troops  by  phratries  and 
by  tribes,  so  that  phratry  may  support  phratry  and  tribe  tribe.”*  Under 
gentile  institutions  of  the  most  advanced  type  the  principle  of  kin  became 
to  a considerable  extent  the  basis  of  the  army  organization.  The  Aztecs, 
in  like  manner,  occupied  the  pueblo  of  Mexico  in  four  distinct  divisions,  the 
people  of  each  of  which  were  more  nearly  related  to  each  other  than  to  the 
people  of  the  other  divisions.  They  were  separate  lineages,  like  the  Tlas- 
calan,  and  it  seems  highly  probable  were  four  phratries,  separately  organ- 
ized as  such.  They  were  distinguished  from  each  other  by  costumes  and 
standards,  and  went  out  to  war  as  separate  divisions.  Their  geographical 
areas  were  called  the  four  quarters  of  Mexico. 

With  respect  to  the  prevalence  of  this  organization  among  the  Indian 
tribes  in  the  Lower  Status  of  barbarism,  the  subject  has  been  but  slightly 
investigated.  It  is  probable  that  it  was  general  in  the  principal  tribes  from 
the  natural  manner  in  which  it  springs  up  as  a necessary  member  of  the 
organic  series,  and  from  the  uses,  other  than  governmental,  to  which  it  was 
adapted. 

In  some  of  the  tribes  the  phratries  stand  out  prominently  upon  the  face 
of  their  organization.  Thus  the  Cliocta  gentes  are  united  in  two  phra- 
tries, which  must  be  mentioned  first  in  order  to  show  the  relation  of  the 
gentes  to  each  other.  The  first  phratry  is  called  “Divided  People,”  and 
contains  four  gentes.  The  second  is  called  “ Beloved  People,”  and  also 
contains  four  gentes.  This  separation  of  the  people  into  two  divisions 
by  gentes  created  two  phratries.  Some  knowledge  of  the  functions  of  these 
phratries  is  of  course  desirable;  but  without  it,  the  fact  of  their  existence 
is  established  by  the  divisions  themselves.  The  evolution  of  a confederacy 
from  a pair  of  gentes — for  less  than  two  are  never  found  in  any  tribe — may 
be  deduced  theoretically  from  the  known  facts  of  Indian  experience.  Thus 
the  gens  increases  in  the  number  of  its  members  and  divides  into  two;  these 
again  subdivide,  and  in  time  reunite  in  two  or  more  phratries.  These  phratries 
form  a tribe,  and  its  members  speak  the  same  dialect.  In  course  of  time 
this  tribe  falls  into  several  by  the  process  of  segmentation,  which  in  turn 


* Iliad,  ii,  362. 


16  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMEBIC  AN  ABOBIGINES. 


reunite  in  a confederacy.  Such  a confederacy  is  a growth,  through  the 
tribe  and  phratry,  from  a pair  of  gentes. 

The  Chickasas  are  organized  in  two  phratries,  of  which  one  contains 
four  and  the  other  eight  gentes,  as  follows  : 

I.  Panther  Phratry. 

Gentes. — 1.  Wild  Cat.  2.  Bird.  3.  Fish.  4.  Deer. 

II.  Spanish  Phratry. 

Gentes. — 5.  Raccoon.  6.  Spanish.  7.  Royal.  8.  Hush-ko'-ni.  9.  Squir- 
rel. 10.  Alligator.  11.  Wolf.  12.  Blackbird. 

A very  complete  illustration  of  the  manner  in  which  phratries  are 
formed  by  natural  growth  through  the  subdivision  of  gentes  is  presented 
by  the  organization  of  the  Mohegan  tribe.  It  had  three  original  gentes, 
the  Wolf,  the  Turtle,  and  the  Turkey. 

Each  of  these  subdivided,  and  the  subdivisions  became  independent 
gentes  ; but  they  retained  the  names  of  the  original  gentes  as  their  respective 
phratric  names.  In  other  words,  the  subdivisions  of  each  gens  reorganized 
in  a phratry.  It  proves  conclusively  the  natural  process  by  which  in  course 
of  time  a gens  breaks  up  into  several,  and  these  remain  united  in  a phratric 
organization,  which  is  expressed  by  assuming  a phratric  name.  They  are 
as  follows : 

I.  Wolf  Phratry. 

Gentes. — 1.  Wolf.  2.  Bear.  3.  Dog.  4.  Opossum. 

II.  Turtle  Phratry. 

Gentes. — 5.  Little  Turtle.  t>.  Mud  Turtle.  7.  Great  Turtle.  8.  Yellow 

Eel. 

III.  Turkey  Phratry. 

Gentes .-—9.  Turkey.  10.  Crane.  11.  Chicken. 

It  is  thus  seen  that  the  original  Wolf  gens  divided  into  four  gentes, 
the  Turtle  into  four,  and  the  Turkey  into  three.  Each  new  gens  took  a 
new  name,  the  original  retaining  its  own,  which  became  by  seniority  that 
of  the  phratry.  It  is  rare  among  the  American  Indian  tribes  to  find  such 
plain  evidence  of  the  segmentation  of  gentes  in  their  external  organization, 
followed  by  the  formation  into  phratries  of  their  respective  subdivisions. 


MORGAN.] 


THE  TRIBE— THIRD  STAGE  OF  ORGANIZATION. 


17 


It  shows  also  that  the  phratry  is  founded  upon  the  kinship  of  the  gentes. 
As  a rule,  the  name  of  the  original  gens  out  of  which  others  had  formed 
is  not  known  ; but  in  each  of  these  cases  it  remains  as  the  name  of  the 
phratry.  Since  the  latter,  like  the  Grecian,  was  a social  and  religious  rather 
than  a governmental  organization,  it  is  externally  less  conspicuous  than  a 
gens  or  tribe,  which  were  essential  to  the  government  of  society.  The 
name  of  but  one  of  the  twelve  Athenian  phratries  has  come  down  to  us  in 
history.  Those  of  the  Iroquois  had  no  name  but  that  of  a brotherhood. 

The  phratry  also  appears  among  the  Thlinkits  of  the  Northwest  coast 
upon  the  surface  of  their  organization  into  gentes.  They  have  two  phra- 
tries, as  follows : 

I.  Wolf  Phratry. 

Gentes. — 1.  Bear.  2.  Eagle.  3.  Dolphin.  4.  Shark.  5.  Alca. 

II.  Raven  Phratry. 

Gentes. — 3.  Frog.  7.  Goose.  8.  Sea-lion.  9.  Owl.  10.  Salmon. 

Intermarriage  in  the  phratry  is  prohibited,  which  shows  of  itself  that 
the  gentes  of  each  phratry  were  derived  from  an  original  gens.  The  mem- 
bers of  any  gens  in  the  Wolf  phratry  could  marry  into  any  gens  of  the 
opposite  phratry,  and  vice  versa. 

From  the  foregoing  facts  the  existence  of  the  phratry  is  established  in 
several  linguistic  stocks  of  the  American  aborigines.  Its  presence  in  the 
tribes  named  raises  a presumption  of  its  general  prevalence  in  the  Gano- 
w&nian  family.  Among  the  Village  Indians,  where  the  numbers  in  a gens 
and  tribe  were  greater,  it  would  necessarily  have  been  more  important,  and 
consequently  more  fully  developed.  As  an  institution  it  was  still  in  its 
archaic  form,  but  it  possessed  the  essential  elements  of  the  Grecian  and  the 
Roman. 


THE  TRIBE. 

It  is  difficult  to  describe  an  Indian  tribe  by  the  affirmative  elements  of 
its  composition.  Nevertheless  it  is  clearly  marked,  and  is  the  ultimate  organ- 
ization of  the  great  body  of  the  American  aborigines.  The  large  number 
of  independent  tribes  into  which  they  had  fallen  by  the  natural  process  of 

2 


J8  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


segmentation  is  the  striking  characteristic  of  their  condition.  Each  tribe 
was  individualized  by  a name,  by  a separate  dialect,  by  a supreme  govern- 
ment, and  by  the  possession  of  a territory  which  it  occupied  and  defended 
as  its  own.  The  tribes  were  as  numerous  as  the  dialects,  for  separation 
did  not  become  complete  until  dialectical  variation  had  commenced.  Indian 
tribes,  therefore,  are  natural  growths  through  the  separation  of  the  same 
people  in  the  area  of  their  occupation,  followed  by  divergence  of  speech, 
segmentation,  and  independence. 

The  exclusive  possession  of  a dialect  and  of  a territory  has  led  to  the 
application  of  the  term  nation  to  many  Indian  tribes,  notwithstanding  the 
fewness  of  the  people  in  each.  Tribe  and  nation , however,  are  not  strict 
equivalents.  A nation  does  not  arise,  under  gentile  institutions,  until  the 
tribes  united  under  the  same  government  have  coalesced  into  one  people,  as 
the  four  Athenian  tribes  coalesced  in  Attica,  three  Dorian  tribes  at  Sparta, 
and  three  Latin  and  Sabine  tribes  at  Rome.  Federation  requires  indepen- 
dent tribes  in  separate  territorial  areas ; but  coalescence  unites  them  by  a 
higher  process  in  the  same  area,  although  the  tendency  to  local  separation 
by  gentes  and  by  tribes  would  continue  The  confederacy  is  the  nearest 
analogue  of  the  nation,  but  not  strictly  equivalent.  Where  the  gentile 
organization  exists,  the  organic  series  gives  all  the  terms  which  are  needed 
for  a correct  description. 

An  Indian  tribe  is  composed  of  several  gentes,  developed  from  two  or 
more,  all  the  members  of  which  are  intermingled  by  marriage,  and  all  of 
whom  speak  the  same  dialect.  To  a stranger  the  tribe  is  visible,  and  not 
the  gens.  The  instances  are  extremely  rare,  among  the  American  abo- 
rigines, in  which  the  tribe  embraced  peoples  speaking  different  dialects. 
When  such  cases  are  found  it  has  resulted  from  the  union  of  a weaker  with 
a stronger  tribe  speaking  a closely  related  dialect,  as  the  union  of  the  Mis- 
souris  with  the  Otoes  after  the  overthrow  of  the  former.  The  fact  that  the 
great  body  of  the  aborigines  were  found  in  independent  tribes  illustrates 
the  slow  and  difficult  growth  of  the  idea  of  government  under  gentile  insti- 
tutions. A small  portion  only  had  attained  to  the  ultimate  stage  known 
among  them,  that  of  a confederacy  of  tribes  speaking  dialects  of  the  same 


MORGAN.  | 


TEIBES  AND  GENTES  CONTINUALLY  FORMING. 


19 


stock  language.  A coalescence  of  tribes  into  a nation  had  not  occurred 
in  any  case  in  any  part  of  America. 

A constant  tendency  to  disintegration,  which  has  proved  such  a hinder- 
ance  to  progress  among  savage  and  barbarous  tribes,  existed  in  the  elements 
of  the  gentile  organization.  It  was  aggravated  by  a further  tendency  to 
divergence  of  speech,  which  was  inseparable  from  their  social  state  and  the 
large  areas  of  their  occupation.  An  oral  language,  although  remarkably 
persistent  in  its  vocables,  and  still  more  persistent  in  its  grammatical  forms, 
is  incapable  of  permanence.  Separation  of  the  people  in  area  was  followed 
in  time  by  variation  in  speech;  and  this,  in  turn,  led  to  separation  in  inter- 
ests and  ultimate  independence.  It  was  not  the  work  of  a brief  period,  but 
of  centuries  of  time,  aggregating  finally  into  thousands  of  years;  and  the 
multiplication  of  the  languages  and  dialects  of  the  different  families  of 
North  and  South  America  probably  required  for  their  formation  the  time 
measured  by  three  ethnical  periods. 

New  tribes,  as  well  as  new  gentes,  were  constantly  forming  by  natural 
growth,  and  the  process  was  sensibly  accelerated  by  the  great  expanse  of 
the  American  continent.  The  method  was  simple.  In  the  first  place  there 
would  occur  a gradual  outflow  of  people  from  some  overstocked  geograph- 
ical center,  which  possessed  superior  advantages  in  the  means  of  subsist- 
ence. Continued  from  year  to  year,  a considerable  population  would  thus 
be  developed  at  a distance  from  the  original  seat  of  the  tribe.  In  course 
of  time  the  emigrants  would  become  distinct  in  interests,  strangers  in  feel- 
ing, and,  last  of  all,  divergent  in  speech.  Separation  and  independence 
would  follow,  although  their  territories  were  contiguous.  A new  tribe  was 
thus  created.  This  is  a concise  statement  of  the  manner  in  which  the  tribes 
of  the  American  aborigines  were  formed,  but  the  statement  must  be  taken 
as  general.  Repeating  itself  from  age  to  age  in  newly  acquired  as  well  as 
in  old  areas,  it  must  be  regarded  as  a natural  as  well  as  inevitable  result  of 
the  gentile  organization,  united  with  the  necessities  of  their  condition. 
When  increased  numbers  pressed  upon  the  means  of  subsistence,  the  surplus 
removed  to  a new  seat,  where  they  established  themselves  with  facility, 
because  the  government  was  perfect  in  every  gens,  and  in  any  number  of 


20  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


gentes  united  in  a band.  Among  the  Village  Indians  the  same  thing 
repeated  itself  in  a slightly  different  manner.  When  a village  became 
overcrowded  with  numbers,  a colony  went  up  or  down  on  the  same  stream 
and  commenced  a new  village.  Repeated  at  intervals  of  time,  several  such 
villages  would  appear,  each  independent  of  the  other  and  a self-governing 
body,  but  united  in  a league  or  confederacy  for  mutual  protection.  Dia- 
lectic variation  would  finally  spring  up,  and  thus  complete  their  growth 
into  tribes 

The  manner  in  which  tribes  are  evolved  from  each  other  can  be  shown 
directly  by  examples.  The  fact  of  separation  can  be  derived  in  part  from 
tradition,  in  part  from  the  possession  by  each  of  a number  of  the  same 
gentes,  and  deduced  in  part  from  the  relations  of  their  dialects.  Tribes 
formed  by  the  subdivisions  of  an  original  tribe  would  possess  a number  of 
gentes  in  common,  and  speak  dialects  of  the  same  language.  After  several 
centuries  of  separation  they  would  still  have  a number  of  the  same  gentes. 
Thus  the  Ilurons,  now  Wyandots,  have  six  gentes  of  the  same  name  with 
six  of  the  gentes  of  the  Seneca-Iroquois,  after  at  least  four  hundred  years 
of  separation.  The  Potawattamies  have  eight  gentes  of  the  same  name 
with  eight  among  the  Ojibwas,  while  the  former  have  six,  and  the  latter 
fourteen,  which  are  different,  showing  that  new  gentes  have  been  formed  in 
each  tribe  by  segmentation  since  their  separation.  A still  older  offshoot 
from  the  Ojibwas,  or  from  the  common  parent  tribe  of  both,  the  Miamis, 
have  but  three  gentes  in  common  with  the  former,  namely,  the  Wolf,  the 
Loon,  and  the  Eagle.  The  minute  social  history  of  the  tribes  of  the  Gano- 
wanian  family  is  locked  up  in  the  life  and  growth  of  the  gentes.  If  investi- 
gation is  ever  turned  strongly  in  this  direction,  the  gentes  themselves  would 
become  reliable  guides,  in  respect  to  the  order  of  separation  from  each 
other  of  the  tribes  of  the  same  stock. 

This  process  of  subdivision  lias  been  operating  among  the  American 
aborigines  for  thousands  of  years,  until  several  hundred  tribes  have  been 
developed  from  about  seventy  stocks  as  existing  in  as  many  families  of 
language. 

O o 


MORGAN.] 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  A TRIBE. 


21 


Their  experience,  probably,  was  blit  a repetition  of  that  of  the  tribes  of 
Asia,  Europe,  and  Africa  when  they  were  in  corresponding  conditions. 

From  the  preceding  observations  it  is  apparent  that  an  American  Indian 
tribe  is  a very  simple  as  well  as  humble  organization.  It  required  but  a 
few  hundred,  and,  at  most,  a few  thousand  people  to  form  a tribe  and  place 
it  in  a respectable  position  in  the  G an  o warn  an  family. 

It  remains  to  present  the  functions  and  attributes  of  an  Indian  tribe, 
which  are  contained  in  the  following  propositions: 

I.  The  possession  of  a territory  and  a name. 

II.  The  exclusive  possession  of  a dialect. 

III.  The  right  to  invest  sachems  and  chiefs  elected  by  the  gentes. 

IV.  The  right  to  depose  these  sachems  and  chiefs. 

V.  The  possession  of  a religious  faith  and  worship. 

VI.  A supreme  government  consisting  of  a council  of  chiefs. 

VII.  A head-chief  of  the  tribe  in  some  instances. 

For  a discussion  of  these  characteristics  of  a tribe,  reference  is  made 
to  Ancient  Society,  pp.  1 1 3-1 1 8. 

The  growth  of  the  idea  of  government  commenced  with  the  organiza- 
tion  into  gentes  in  savagery.  It  reveals  three  great  stages  of  progressive 
development  between  its  commencement  and  the  institution  of  political 
society  after  civilization  had  been  attained.  The  first  stage  was  the  govern- 
ment of  a tribe  by  a council  of  chiefs  elected  by  the  gentes.  Ft  may  be 
called  a government  of  one  power;  namely,  the  council.  It  prevailed  gener- 
ally among  tribes  in  the  Lower  Status  of  barbarism.  'Die  second  stage  was 
a government  co-ordinated  between  a council  of  chiefs  and  a general  mill- 
tary  commander,  one  representing  the  civil  and  the  other  the  military  func- 
tions. This  second  form  began  to  manifest  itself  in  the  Lower  Status  of 
barbarism  after  confederacies  were  formed,  and  it  became  definite  in  the 
Middle  Status.  The  office  of  general,  or  principal  military  commander, 
was  the  germ  of  that  of  a chief  executive  magistrate,  the  king,  the  emperor, 
and  the  president.  It  may  be  called  a government  of  two  powers , namely, 
the  council  of  chiefs  and  the  general.  The  third  stage  was  the  government  of 
a people  or  nation  by  a council  of  chiefs,  an  assembly  of  the  people,  and  a 
general  military  commander.  It  appeared  among  the  tribes  who  had  attained 


22  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


to  the  Upper  Status  of  barbarism;  such,  for  example,  as  the  Homeric 
Greeks  and  the  Italian  tribes  of  the  period  of  Romulus.  A large  increase 
in  the  number  of  people  united  in  a nation,  their  establishment  in  walled 
cities,  and  the  creation  of  wealth  in  lands  and  in  flocks  and  herds,  brought 
in  the  assembly  of  the  people  as  an  instrument  of  government.  The  coun- 
cil of  chiefs,  which  still  remained,  found  it  necessary,  no  doubt,  through 
popular  constraint,  to  submit  the  most  important  public  measures  to  an 
assembly  of  the  people  for  acceptance  or  rejection;  whence  the  popular 
assembly.  This  assembly  did  not  originate  measures.  It  was  its  function 
to  adopt  or  reject,  and  its  action  was  final.  From  its  first  appearance  it 
became  a permanent  jmwer  in  the  government.  The  council  no  longer 
passed  important  public  measures,  but  became  a preconsidering  council, 
with  power  to  originate  and  mature  public  acts  to  which  the  assembly 
alone  could  give  validity.  It  may  be  called  a government  of  three  powers, 
namely,  the  preconsidering  council , the  assembly  of  the  people,  and  the  general. 
This  remained  until  the  institution  of  political  society,  when,  for  example, 
among  the  Athenians,  the  council  of  chiefs  became  the  senate,  and  the 
assembly  of  the  people  the  ecclesia  or  popular  assembly.  The  same 
organizations  have  come  down  to  modern  times  in  the  two  houses  of  Par- 
liament, of  Congress,  and  of  legislatures.  In  like  manner  the  office  of  gen- 
eral military  commander,  as  before  stated,  was  the  germ  of  the  office  of  the 
modern  chief  executive  magistrate. 

Recurring  to  the  tribe,  it  was  limited  in  the  numbers  of  the  people, 
feeble  in  strength,  and  poor  in  resources ; but  yet  a completely  organized 
society.  It  illustrates  the  condition  of  mankind  in  the  Lower  Status  of  bar- 
barism. In  the  Middle  Status  there  was  a sensible  increase  of  numbers  in 
a tribe,  and  an  improved  condition ; but  with  a continuance  of  gentile 
society  without  essential  change.  Polit  ical  society  was  still  impossible  from 
want  of  advancement.  The  gentes  organized  into  tribes  remained  as  before, 
but  confederacies  must  have  been  more  frequent.  In  some  areas,  as  in 
the  Valley  of  Mexico,  large  numbers  were  developed  under  a common  gov- 
ernment, with  improvements  in  the  arts  of  life  ; but  no  evidence  exists  of 
the  overthrow  among  them  of  gentile  society  and  the  substitution  of  politi- 
cal. It  is  impossible  to  found  a political  society  or  a state  upon  gentes. 


MORGAN] 


THE  CONFEDERACY  OF  TRIBES. 


23 


A state  must  rest  upon  territory  and  not  upon  persons ; upon  the  township 
as  the  unit  of  a political  system,  and  not  upon  the  gens,  which  is  the  unit 
of  a social  system.  It  required  time  and  a vast  experience,  beyond  that  of 
the  American  Indian  tribes,  as  a preparation  for  such  a fundamental  change 
of  systems.  It  also  required  men  of  the  mental  stature  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans,  and  with  the  experience  derived  from  a long  chain  of  ancestors,  to 
devise  and  gradually  introduce  that  new  plan  of  government  under  which 
civilized  nations  are  living  at  the  present  time. 


THE  CONFEDERACY  OF  TRIBES. 

A tendency  to  confederate  for  mutual  defense  would  very  naturally 
exist  among  kindred  and  contiguous  tribes.  When  the  advantages  of  a 
union  had  been  appreciated  by  actual  experience,  the  organization,  at  first 
a league,  would  gradually  cement  into  a federal  unity.  The  state  of  per- 
petual warfare  in  which  they  lived  would  quicken  this  natural  tendency 
into  action  among  such  tribes  as  were  sufficiently  advanced  in  intelligence 
and  in  the  arts  of  life  to  perceive  its  benefits.  It  would  be  simply  a growth 
from  a lower  into  a higher  organization  by  an  extension  of  the  principle 
which  united  the  gentes  in  a tribe. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  several  confederacies  existed  in  different 
parts  of  North  America  when  discovered,  some  of  which  were  quite  remarka- 
ble in  plan  and  structure.  Among  the  number  may  be  mentioned  the  Iro- 
quois Confederacy  of  five  independent  tribes,  the  Creek  Confederacy  of  six, 
the  Ottawa  Confederacy  of  three,  the  Dakota  League  of  the  “ Seven  Council 
Fires,”  the  Moki  Confederacy  in  New  Mexico  of  Seven  Pueblos,  and  the 
Aztec  Confederacy  of  three  tribes  in  the  Valley  of  Mexico.  It  is  probable 
that  the  Village  Indians  in  other  parts  of  Mexico,  in  Central  and  in  South 
America,  were  quite  generally  organized  in  confederacies  consisting  of  two 
or  more  kindred  tribes.  Progress  necessarily  took  this  direction  from  the 
nature  of  their  institutions  and  from  the  law  governing  their  development. 
Nevertheless  the  formation  of  a confederacy  out  of  such  materials,  and  with 
such  unstable  geographical  relations,  was  a difficult  undertaking.  It  was 


24  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


easiest  of  achievement  by  the  Village  Indians  from  the  nearness  to  each  other 
of  their  pueblos  and  from  the  smallness  of  their  areas ; but  it  was  accom- 
plished in  occasional  instances  by  tribes  in  the  Lower  Status  of  barbarism, 
and  notably  by  the  Iroquois.  Wherever  a confederacy  was  formed  it  would 
of  itself  evince  the  superior  intelligence  of  the  people. 

The  two  highest  examples  of  Indian  confederacies  in  North  America 
were  those  of  the  Iroquois  and  of  the  Aztecs.  From  their  acknowledged 
superiority  as  military  powers,  and  from  their  geographical  positions,  these 
confederacies  in  both  cases  produced  remarkable  results.  Our  knowledge 
of  the  structure  and  principles  of  the  former  is  definite  and  complete,  while 
of  the  latter  it  is  far  from  satisfactory.  The  Aztec  Confederacy  has  been 
handled  in  such  a manner  historically  as  to  leave  it  doubtful  whether  it  was 
simply  a league  of  three  kindred  tribes,  offensive  and  defensive,  or  a sys- 
tematic confederacy  like  that  of  the  Iroquois.  That  which  is  true  of  the 
latter  was  probably  in  a general  sense  true  of  the  former,  so  that  a knowl- 
edge of  one  will  tend  to  elucidate  the  other. 

The  conditions  under  which  confederacies  spring  into  being  and  the 
principles  on  which  they  are  formed  are  remarkably  simple.  They  grow 
naturally  with  time  out  of  pre-existing  elements.  Where  one  tribe  had 
divided  into  several,  and  these  subdivisions  occupied  independent  but  con- 
tiguous territories,  the  confederacy  reintegrated  them  in  a higher  organiza- 
tion on  the  basis  of  the  common  gentes  they  possessed  and  of  ihe  affiliated 
dialects  they  spoke.  The  sentiment  of  kin  embodied  in  the  gens,  the  com- 
mon lineage  of  the  gentes,  and  their  dialects,  still  mutually  intelligible, 
yielded  the  material  elements  for  a confederation.  The  confederacy,  there- 
fore, had  the  gentes  for  its  basis  and  center,  and  stock  language  for  its  cir- 
cumference. No  one  has  been  found  that  reached  beyond  the  bounds  of 
the  dialects  of  a common  language.  If  this  natural  -barrier  had  been 
crossed  it  would  have  forced  heterogeneous  elements  into  the  organization. 
Cases  have  occurred  where  the  remains  of  a tribe,  not  cognate  in  speech, 
as  the  Natchez,*  have  been  admitted  into  an  existing  confederacy;  but  this 
exception  would  not  invalidate  the  general  proposition.  It  was  impossible 
for  an  Indian  power  to  arise  upon  the  American  continent  through  a con- 


* They  were  admitted  into  the  Creek  Confederacy  after  their  overthrow  by  the  French. 


MORGAN.] 


THE  IEOQ.UOIS  CONFEDERACY. 


25 


fecleracy  of  tribes  organized  in  gentes,  and  advance  to  a general  supremacy, 
unless  their  numbers  were  developed  from  their  own  stock.  The  multitude 
of  stock  languages  is  a standing  explanation  of  the  failure.  There  was  no 
possible  way  of  becoming  connected  on  equal  terms  with  a confederacy 
excepting  through  membership  in  a gens  and  tribe  and  a common  speech'. 

The  Iroquois  have  furnished  an  excellent  illustration  of  the  manner 
in  which  a confederacy  is  formed  by  natural  growth  assisted  by  skillful 
legislation.  Originally  emigrants  from  beyond  the  Mississippi,  and  possi- 
bly a branch  of  the  Dakota  stock,  they  first  made  their  way  to  the  valley 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  settled  themselves  near  Montreal.  Forced  to 
leave  this  region  by  the  hostility  of  surrounding  tribes,  they  sought  the 
central  region  of  New  York.  Coasting  the  eastern  shore  of  Lake  Ontario 
in  canoes,  for  their  numbers  were  small,  they  made  their  first  settlement  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Oswego  River,  where,  according  to  their  traditions,  they 
remained  for  a long  period  of  time.  They  were  then  in  at  least  three  dis- 
tinct tribes,  the  Mohawks,  the  Onondagas,  and  the  Senecas.  One  tribe  sub- 
sequently established  themselves  at  the  head  of  the  Canandaigua  Lake  and 
became  the  Senecas.  Another  tribe  occupied  the  Onondaga  Valley  and 
became  the  Onondagas.  The  third  passed  eastward  and  settled  first  at 
Oneida,  near  the  site  of  Utica,  from  which  place  the  main  portion  removed 
to  the  Mohawk  Valley  and  became  the  Mohawks.  Those  who  remained 
became  the  Oneidas.  A portion  of  the  Onondagas  or  Senecas  settled  along 
the  eastern  shore  of  the  Cayuga  Lake  and  became  the  Cayugas  New 
York,  before  its  occupation  by  the  Iroquois,  seems  to  have  been  a part  of 
the  area  of  the  Algonkin  tribes.  According  to  Iroquois  traditions,  they 
displaced  its  anterior  inhabitants  as  they  gradually  extended  their  settle- 
ments eastward  to  the  Hudson  and  westward  to  the  Genesee.  Their  tra- 
ditions further  declare  that  a long  period  of  time  elapsed  after  their  settle- 
ment in  New  York  before  the  confederacy  was  formed,  during  which  they 
made  common  cause  against  their  enemies,  and  thus  experienced  the  advan- 
tages of  the  federal  principle  both  for  aggression  and  defense.  They 
resided  in  villages,  which  were  usually  surrounded  with  stockades,  and 
subsisted  upon  fish  and  game  and  the  products  of  a limited  horticulture. 
In  numbers  they  did  not  at  any  time  exceed  20,000  sonls,  if  they  ever 


2(3  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE  LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


reached  that  number.  Precarious  subsistence  and  incessant  warfare  re- 
pressed numbers  in  all  the  aboriginal  tribes,  including  the  Village  Indians 
as  well.  The  Iroquois  were  enshrouded  in  the  great  forests  which  then 
overspread  New  York,  against  which  they  had  no  power  to  contend.  They 
were  first  discovered  A.  D.  1608.  About  1675  they  attained  their  culmi- 
nating point,  when  their  dominion  reached  over  an  area  remarkably  large, 
covering  the  greater  parts  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio,*  and 
portions  of  Canada  north  of  Lake  Ontario.  At  the  time  of  their  discovery 
they  were  the  highest  representatives  of  the  red  race  north  of  New  Mexico 
in  intelligence  and  advancement,  though  perhaps  inferior  to  some  of  the 
Gulf  tribes  in  the  arts  of  life.  In  the  extent  and  quality  of  their  mental 
endowments  they  must  be  ranked  among  the  highest  Indians  in  America. 
There  are  over  six  thousand  Iroquois  in  New  York,  besides  scattered  bands 
in  other  parts  of  the  United  States,  and  a still  larger  number  in  Canada; 
thus  illustrating  the  efficiency  as  well  as  persistency  of  the  arts  of  barba- 
rous life  in  sustaining  existence  It  is,  moreover,  now  ascertained  that  they 
are  slowly  increasing. 

When  the  confederacy  was  formed,  about  A.  D.  1400-1450, f the  con- 
ditions previously  named  were  present.  The  Iroquois  were  in  five  inde- 
pendent tribes,  occupied  territories  contiguous  to  each  other,  and  spoke 
dialects  of  the  same  language  which  were  mutually  intelligible.  Beside 
these  facts,  certain  gentes  were  common  in  the  several  tribes,  as  has  been 
shown.  In  their  relations  to  each  other,  as  separated  parts  of  the  same 
gens,  these  common  gentes  afforded  a natural  and  enduring  basis  for  a con- 
federacy. With  these  elements  existing,  the  formation  of  a confederacy 
became  a question  of  intelligence  and  skill.  Other  tribes  in  large  numbers 
were  standing  in  precisely  the  same  relations  in  different  parts  of  the  conti- 
nent without  confederating.  The  fact  that  the  Iroquois  tribes  accomplished 
the  work  affords  evidence  of  their  superior  capacity.  Moreover,  as  the 

* About.  l(j.51-’55  they  expelled  their  kindred  tribes,  the  Elies,  from  the  region  between  the  Gene- 
see Iiiver  and  Lake  Erie,  and  shortly  afterwards  the  Neutral  Nations  from  the  Niagara  River,  and  thus 
came  into  possession  of  the  remainder  of  New  York,  with  the  exception  of  the  Lower  Hudson  and  Long 
Island. 

t The  Iroquois  claimed  that  it  had  existed  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  years  when 
they  first  saw  Europeans.  The  generations  of  sachems  in  the  history  by  David  Cusick  (a  Tuscarora) 
would  make  it  more  ancient.  Schoolcraft’s  History,  Condition  and  Prospects  of  the  Indian  Tribes, 
5,  p.  631. 


MORGAN.] 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  PLAN  OF  A CONFEDERACY. 


27 


confederacy  was  the  ultimate  stage  of  organization  among  the  American 
aborigines,  its  existence  would  be  expected  in  the  most  intelligent  tribes 
only. 

It  is  affirmed  by  the  Iroquois  that  the  confederacy  was  formed  by  a 
council  of  wise  men  and  chiefs  of  the  five  tribes  which  met  for  that  purpose 
on  the  north  shore  of  Onondaga  Lake,  near  the  site  of  Syracuse ; and  that 
before  its  session  was  concluded  the  organization  was  perfected  and  set  in 
immediate  operation.  At  their  periodical  councils  for  raising  up  sachems 
they  still  explain  its  origin  as  the  result  of  one  protracted  effort  of  legisla- 
tion. It  was  probably  a consequence  of  a previous  alliance  for  mutual 
defense,  the  advantages  of  which  they  had  perceived  and  which  they 
sought  to  render  permanent. 

The  origin  of  the  plan  is  ascribed  to  a mythical,  or,  at  least,  tradition- 
ary person,  Ha-yo-went' -lid,  the  Hiawatha  of  Longfellow’s  celebrated  poem, 
who  was  present  at  this  council  and  the  central  person  in  its  management. 
In  his  communications  with  the  council  he  used  a wise  man  of  the  Onon- 
dagas,  Da-gd-no-we'-cld,  as  an  interpreter  and  speaker  to  expound  the 
structure  and  principles  of  the  proposed  confederacy.  The  same  tradition 
further  declares  that  when  the  work  was  accomplished  Ha-yo-went' -hd 
miraculously  disappeared  in  a white  canoe,  which  arose  with  him  in  the  air 
and  bore  him  out  of  their  sight.  Other  prodigies,  according  to  this  tradi- 
tion, attended  and  signalized  the  formation  of  the  confederacy,  which  is 
still  celebrated  among  them  as  a masterpiece  of  Indian  wisdom.  Such  in 
truth  it  was  ; and  it  will  remain  in  history  as  a monument  of  their  genius  in 
developing  gentile  institutions.  It  will  also  be  remembered  as  an  illustra- 
tion of  what  tribes  of  mankind  have  been  able  to  accomplish  in  the  art  of 
government  while  in  the  Lower  Status  of  barbarism,  and  under  the  disad- 
vantages this  condition  implies. 

Which  of  the  two  persons  was  the  founder  of  the  confederacy  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  determine.  The  silent  Ha-yo-went' -ha  was,  not  unlikely,  a real  per- 
son of  Iroquois  lineage  ;*  but  tradition  has  enveloped  his  character  so  com- 
pletely in  the  supernatural  that  he  loses  his  place  among  them  as  one  ot 
their  number.  If  Hiawatha  were  a real  person,  Da-gd-no-we' -dd  must  hold 


* My  friend  Horatio  Hale,  the  eminent  philologist,  came,  as  he  informed  me,  to  this  conclusion. 


28  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


a subordinate  place ; but  if  a mythical  person  invoked  for  the  occasion, 
then  to  the  latter  belongs  the  credit  of  planning  the  confederacy. 

The  Iroquois  affirm  that  the  confederacy,  as  formed  by  this  council, 
with  its  powers,  functions,  and  mode  of  administration,  has  come  down  to 
them  through  many  generations  to  the  present  time  with  scarcely  a change 
in  its  internal  organization.  When  the  Tuscaroras  were  subsequently 
admitted,  their  sachems  were  allowed  by  courtesy  to  sit  as  equals  in  the 
general  council,  but  the  original  number  of  sachems  was  not  increased,  and 
in  strictness  those  of  the  Tuscaroras  formed  no  part  of  the  ruling  body. 

The  general  features  of  the  Iroquois  Confederacy  may  be  summarized 
in  the  following  propositions  : 

I.  The  Confederacy  was  a union  of  Five  Tribes , com/posed  of  common 
gentes,  under  one  government  on  the  basis  of  equality ; each  Tribe  remaining 
independent  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  local  self-government. 

II.  It  created  a General  Council  of  Sachems , who  were  limited  in  number, 
equal  in  rank  and  authority,  and  invested  with  supreme  powers  over  all  matters 
pertaining  to  the  Confederacy. 

III.  Fifty  Sachemships  ivere  created  and  named  in  perpetuity  in  certain 
gentes  of  the  several  Tribes ; with  power  in  these  gentes  to  fill  vacancies,  as  often 
as  they  occurred,  by  election  from  among  their  respective  members,  and  with  the 
further  power  to  depose  from  office  for  cause;  but  the  right  to  invest  these  Sachems 
with  office  was  reserved  to  the  General  Council. 

IV.  The  Sachems  of  the  Confederacy  ivere  also  Sachems  in  their  respective 
Tribes,  and  with  the  Chiefs  of  these  Tribes  formed  the  Council  of  each,  which 
was  supreme  over  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  Tribe  exclusively. 

V.  Unanimity  in  the  Council  of  the  Confederacy  ivas  made  essential  to  every 
public  act. 

VI.  In  the  General  Council  the  Sachems  voted  by  Tribes,  which  gave  to 
each  Tribe  a negative  upon  the  others. 

VII.  The  Council  of  each  Tribe  had  power  to  convene  the  General  Council; 
but  the  latter  had  no  power  to  convene  itself 

VIII.  The  General  Council  ivas  open  to  the  orators  of  the  people  for  the 
discussion  of  public  questions;  but  the  Council  alone  decided. 


Morgan.]  GENERAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  IROQUOIS  CONFEDERACY.  29 


IX.  The  Confederacy  had  no  chief  Executive  Magistrate  or  official  head. 

X.  Experiencing  the  necessity  for  a General  Military  Commander , they 
created  the  office  in  a dual  form , that  one  might  neutralize  the  other.  The  two 
principal  War-chiefs  created  were  made  equal  in  powers. 

These  several  propositions  will  be  considered  and  illustrated,  but  with- 
out following  the  precise  form  or  order  in  which  they  are  stated. 

At  the  institution  of  the  confederacy  fifty  permanent  sachemships  were 
created  and  named,  and  made  perpetual  in  the  gentes  to  which  they  were 
assigned.  With  the  exception  of  two,  which  were  filled  but  once,  they 
have  been  held  by  as  many  different  persons  in  succession  as  generations 
have  passed  away  between  that  time  and  the  present.  The  name  of  each 
sachemship  is  also  the  personal  name  of  each  sachem  while  lie  holds  the 
office,  each  one  in  succession  taking  the  name  of  his  predecessor.  These 
sachems,  when  in  session,  formed  the  council  of  the  confederacy  in  which 
the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  powers  were  vested,  although  such  a 
discrimination  of  functions  had  not  come  to  be  made.  To  secure  order  in 
the  succession,  the  several  gentes  in  which  these  offices  were  made  heredi- 
tary were  empowered  to  elect  successors  from  among  their  respective  mem- 
bers when  vacancies  occurred,  as  elsewhere  explained.  As  a further  meas- 
ure of  protection  to  their  own  body,  each  sachem,  after  his  election  and  its 
confirmation,  was  invested  with  his  office  by  a council  of  the  confederacy. 
When  thus  installed  his  name  was  “taken  away”  and  that  of  the  sachem- 
ship was  bestowed  upon  him.  By  this  name  he  was  afterwards  known 
among  them.  They  were  all  upon  equality  in  rank,  authority,  and  priv- 
ileges. 

These  sachemships  were  distributed  unequally  among  the  five  tribes; 
but  without  giving  to  either  a preponderance  of  power ; and  unequally 
among  the  gentes  of  the  last  three  tribes.  The  Mohawks  had  nine  sachems, 
the  Oneidas  nine,  the  Onondagas  fourteen,  the  Cayugas  ten,  and  the  Sene- 
cas eight.  This  was  the  number  at  first,  and  it  has  remained  the  number 
to  the  present  time.  A table  of  these  sachemships,  founded  at  the  institu- 
tion of  the  Confederacy,  with  the  names  which  have  been  borne  by  their 
sachems  in  succession,  from  its  formation  to  the  present  time,  is  subjoined, 


30  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


with  their  names  in  the  Seneca  dialect,  and  their  arrangement  in  classes  to 
facilitate  the  attainment  of  unanimity  in  council.  In  foot-notes  will  be 
found  the  signification  of  these  names,  and  the  gentes  to  which  they 
belonged. 

Table  of  sachemships  of  the  Iroquois.1 

MOHAWKS. 

I.  1.  Da-ga-e'-o-ga.1  2.  Ha-yo-went'-ha.2  3.  Da-ga-no-we'-da.3 

II.  4.  So-a-e-wa'-ah.4  5.  Da-yo'-ho-go.5  6.  O-a-a'-go-wa.6 

III.  7.  Da-an-no-ga/e-neh.7  8.  Sa-da'-ga-e-wa-deh.8  9.  Has-da-weh'- 
se-ont-ha.9 

ONEIDAS. 

I.  1.  Ho-das'-ha-teh.10  2.  Ga-no-gweh'-yo-do.11 *  3.  Da-yo-ha/-g wen- 
da.11 

II.  4.  So-no  -saseh13  5.  To-no-a-ga'-o.14  6.  Ila-de-a-dun-nent'-ha.15 

III.  7.  Da-wa-da'-o-da-yo.16  8.  Ga-ne-a-dus'-ha-yeh.17  9.  Ho-wus'-ha- 
da-o.18 

ONONDAGAS. 

I.  1.  To-do-da'-ho.19  2.  To-nes'-sa-ah.  3.  Da-at'-ga-dose.20 

II.  4.  Ga-nea-da'-je-wake.21  5.  Ah-wa'-ga-yat.22  6.  Da-a-yat'-gwa-e. 

III.  7.  Ho-no-we-na-to.23 

IY.  8.  Ga-wa-na'-san-do.24.  9.  Ha-e'-ho.25  10.  Ho-yo-ne-a'-ne.26  11. 

Sa-da'-kwa-seh.27 

Y.  12.  Sa-go-ga-ha/.28  13.  Ho-sa-ha'-do 29  14.  Ska-no'-wun-de.30 

1 These  names  signify  as  follows:  1.  “ Neutral,”  or  “The  Shield.”  2.  “Man  who  Combs.”  3. 

“Inexhaustible.”  4.  “ Small  Speech.”  5.  “At  the  Forks.”  6.  “At  the  Great  River.”  7.  “Dragging 

his  Horns.”  8.  “ Even  Tempered,”  9.  “ Hanging  up  Rattles.”  The  sachems  in  class  one  belonged  to 

the  Turtle  geos,  in  class  two  to  the  Wolf  gens,  and  in  class  three  to  the  Bear  gens. 

10.  “A  Man  bearing  a Burden.”  11.  “A  Man  covered  with  Cat-tail  Down.”  12.  “Opening 

through  the  Woods.”  13.  “ A Long  String.”  14.  “ A Man  with  a Headache.”  15.  “ Swallowing  Him- 

self.” 16.  “ Place  of  the  Echo.”  17.  “War-club  on  the  Ground.”  18.  “A  Man  Steaming  Himself.” 

The  sachems  in  the  first  class  belong  to  the  Wolf  gens,  in  the  second  to  the  Turtle  gens,  and  in  the 

third  to  the  Bear  gens. 

19.  “ Tangled,”  Bear  gens.  20.  “ On  the  Watch,”  Bear  gens.  This  sachem  and  the  one  before 

him  were  hereditary  councillors  of  the  To-do-dii'-ho,  who  held  the  most  illustrious  sachemship.  21. 

“ Bitter  Body,”  Snipe  gens.  22.  Turtle  gens.  23.  This  sachem  was  hereditary  keeper  of  the  wampum; 

Wolf  gens. 

24.  Deer  gens.  25.  Deer  gens.  26.  Turtle  gens.  27.  Bear  gens.  28.  “ Having  a Glimpse,”  Deer 

gens.  29.  “ Large  Mouth,”  Turtle  gens.  30.  “ Over  the  Creek,”  Turtle  gens. 


MORGAN.] 


TABLE  OF  SACHEMSIIIPS  OF  TflE  IROQUOIS. 


31 


CAYUGAS. 

I.  1.  Da-ga/-a-yo.31  2.  Da-je-no'-da-weh-o.38  3.  Ga-da'-gwa-sa.33 

4.  So-yo-wasA34  5.  Ha-de-as'yo-no.35 

II.  6.  Da-yo-o-yo'go.36  7.  Jote-ho-weh'-ko.37  8.  De-a-wate'-ho.38 

III.  9.  To-da-e-ho'.39  10.  10.  Des-ga'-heh.40 

SENECAS. 

I.  1.  Ga-ne-o-df-yo.40  2.  Sa-da-ga/-o-yase.41 

II.  3.  Ga-no-gi'-e.42  4.  Sa-geh'-jo-wa.43 

III.  5.  Sa-de-a-no'-wus.44  6.  Nis-ha-ne-a'-nent.45 

IV.  7.  Ga-no-go-e-da'-we.46  8.  Do-ne-ho-ga/-weh.47 

Two  of  these  sachemships  have  been  filled  but  once  since  their  crea- 
tion. Ha-yo-went' -ha  and  Da-ga-no-we' -da  consented  to  take  the  office 
among  the  Mohawk  sachems,  and  to  leave  their  names  in  the  list  upon  con- 
dition that  after  their  demise  the  two  should  remain  thereafter  vacant. 
They  were  installed  upon  these  terms,  and  the  stipulation  has  been 
observed  to  the  present  day.  At  all  councils  for  the  investiture  of  sachems 
their  names  are  still  called  with  the  others  as  a tribute  of  respect  to  their 
memory.  The  general  council,  therefore,  consisted  of  but  forty-eight 
members. 

Each  sachem  had  an  assistant  sachem,  who  was  elected  by  the  gens  of 
his  principal  from  among  its  members,  and  who  was  installed  with  the  same 
forms  and  ceremonies.  He  was  styled  an  “ aid.”  It  was  his  duty  to  stand 
behind  his  superior  on  all  occasions  of  ceremony,  to  act  as  his  messenger, 
and  in  general  to  be  subject  to  his  directions.  It  gave  to  the  aid  the  office 
of  chief,  and  rendered  probable  his  election  as  the  successor  of  his  principal 
after  the  decease  of  the  latter.  In  their  figurative  language  these  aids  of 
the  sachems  were  styled  “ Braces  in  the  Long  House,”  which  symbolized 
the  confederacy. 

31.  “Man  Frightened,”  Deer  gens.  32.  Heron  gens.  33.  Bear  gens.  34.  Bear  gens.  35.  Turtle 
gens.  36.  Not  ascertained.  37.  “Very  Cold,”  Turtle  gens.  38.  Heron  gens.  39.  Snipe  gens.  40. 
Snipe  gens. 

41.  “ Handsome  Lake,”  Turtle  gens.  42.  “ Level  Heavens,”  Snipe  gens.  43.  Turtle  gens.  44. 
“Great  Forehead,”  Hawk  gens.  45.  “Assistant,”  Bear  gens.  46.  “Falling  Day,”  Snipe  gens.  47. 
“Hair  Burned  Off,”  Snipe  gens.  48.  “ Open  Door,”  Wolf  gens.” 


32  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


The  names  bestowed  upon  the  original  sachems  became  the  names  of 
their  respective  successors  in  perpetuity.  For  example,  upon  the  demise  of 
Ga-ne-o-di'-yo , one  of  the  eight  Seneca  sachems,  his  successor  would  be 
elected  by  the  Turtle  gens  in  which  this  sachemsliip  was  hereditary,  and 
when  raised  up  by  the  general  council  he  would  receive  this  name,  in  place 
of  his  own,  as  a part  of  the  ceremony.  On  several  different  occasions  I 
have  attended  their  councils  for  raising  up  sachems  both  at  the  Onondaga 
and  Seneca  reservations,  and  witnessed  the  ceremonies  herein  referred  to. 
Although  but  a shadow  of  the  old  confederacy  now  remains,  it  is  fully 
organized  with  its  complement  of  sachems  and  aids,  with  the  exception  of 
the  Mohawk  tribe,  which  removed  to  Canada  about  1775.  Whenever 
vacancies  occur  their  places  are  filled,  and  a general  council  is  convened 
to  install  the  new  sachems  and  their  aids.  The  present  Iroquois  are  also 
perfectly  familiar  with  the  structure  and  principles  of  the  ancient  confederacy. 

For  all  purposes  of  tribal  government  the  five  tribes  were  independent 
of  each  other.  Their  territories  were  separated  by  fixed  boundary  lines, 
and  their  tribal  interests  were  distinct.  The  eight  Seneca  sachems,  in  con- 
junction with  the  other  Seneca  chiefs,  formed  the  council  of  the  tribe  by 
which  its  affairs  were  administered,  leaving  to  each  of  the  other  tribes  the 
same  control  over  their  separate  interests.  As  an  organization  the  tribe  was 
neither  weakened  nor  impaired  by  the  confederate  compact.  Each  was  in 
vigorous  life  within  its  appropriate  sphere,  presenting  some  analogy  to  our 
own  States  within  an  embracing  Republic.  It  is  worthy  of  remembrance 
that  the  Iroquois  commended  to  our  forefathers  a union  of  the  colonies 
similar  to  their  own  as  early  as  1755.  They  saw  in  the  common  interests 
and  common  speech  of  the  several  colonies  the  elements  for  a confedera- 
tion, which  was  as  far  as  their  vision  was  able  to  penetrate. 

The  tribes  occupied  positions  of  entire  equality  in  the  confederacy  in 
rights,  privileges,  and  obligations.  Such  special  immunities  as  were  granted 
to  one  or  another  indicate  no  intention  to  establish  an  unequal  compact  or 
to  concede  unequal  privileges.  There  were  organic  provisions  apparently 
investing  particular  tribes  with  superior  power;  as,  for  example,  the  Onon- 
dagas  were  allowed  fourteen  sachems  and  the  Senecas  but  eight ; and  a 
larger  body  of  sachems  would  naturally  exercise  a stronger  influence  in 


MORGAN.] 


CONFEDERACY  FOUNDED  ON  KINSHIP. 


33 


council  than  a smaller.  But  in  this  case  it  gave  no  additional  power, 
because  the  sachems  of  each  tribe  had  an  equal  voice  in  forming  a decision, 
and  a negative  upon  the  others.  When  in  council  they  agreed  by  tribes, 
and  unanimity  in  opinion  was  essential  to  every  public  act.  The  Onon- 
dagas  were  made  “ Keepers  of  the  Wampum,”  and  “ Keepers  of  the  Coun- 
cil Brand,”  the  Mohawks  “ Receivers  of  Tribute  ” from  subjugated  tribes, 
and  the  Senecas  “ Keepers  of  the  Door”  of  the  Long  House.  These  and 
some  other  similar  provisions  were  made  for  the  common  advantage. 

The  cohesive  principle  of  the  confederacy  did  not  spring  exclusively 
from  the  benefits  of  an  alliance  for  mutual  protection,  but  had  a deeper 
foundation  in  the  bond  of  kin.  The  confederacy  rested  upon  the  tribes 
ostensibly,  but  primarily  upon  common  gentes.  All  the  members  of  the 
same  gens,  whether  Mohawks,  Oneidas,  Onondagas,  Cayugas,  or  Senecas, 
were  brothers  and  sisters  to  each  other  in  virtue  of  their  descent  from  the 
same  common  ancestor,  and  they  recognized  each  other  as  such  with  the 
fullest  cordiality.  When  they  met,  the  first  inquiry  was  the  name  of  each 
other’s  gens,  and  next  the  immediate  pedigree  of  their  respective  sachems ; 
after  which  they  were  usually  able  to  find,  under  their  peculiar  system  of 
consanguinity*,  the  relationship  in  which  they  stood  to  each  other.  Three 
of  the  gentes — namely,  the  Wolf,  Bear,  and  Turtle — were  common  to  the 
five  tribes  ; these  and  three  others  were  common  to  three  tribes.  In  effect, 
the  Wolf  gens,  through  the  division  of  an  original  tribe  into  five,  was  now 
in  five  divisions,  one  of  which  was  in  each  tribe.  It  was  the  same  with  the 
Bear  and  the  Turtle  gentes.  The  Deer,  Snipe,  and  Hawk  gentes  were 
common  to  the  Senecas,  Cayugas,  and  Onondagas.  Between  the  separated 
parts  of  each  gens,  although  its  members  spoke  different  dialects  of  the 
same  language,  there  existed  a fraternal  connection  which  linked  the  nations 
together  with  indissoluble  bonds.  When  the  Mohawk  of  the  Wolf  gens 
recognized  an  Oneida,  Onondaga,  Cayuga,  or  Seneca  of  the  same  gens  as  a 
brother,  and  when  the  members  of  the  other  divided  gentes  did  the  same, 

* The  children  of  brothers  are  themselves  brothers  and  sisters  to  each  other;  the  children  of  the 
latter  were  also  brothers  and  sisters,  and  so  downwards  indefinitely.  The  children  and  descendants  of 
sisters  are  the  same.  The  children  of  a brother  and  sister  are  cousins;  the  children  of  the  latter  are 
cousins,  and  so  downwards  indefinitely.  A knowledge  of  the  relationships  to  each  other  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  same  gens  is  never  lost. 

3 


34  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


the  relationship  was  not  ideal,  but  a fact  founded  upon  consanguinity,  and 
upon  faith  in  an  assured  lineage  older  than  their  dialects  and  coeval  with 
their  unity  as  one  people.  In  the  estimation  of  an  Iroquois  every  member 
of  his  gens,  in  whatever  tribe,  was  as  certainly  a kinsman  as  an  own  brother. 
This  cross-relationship  between  persons  of  the  same  gens  in  the  different 
tribes  is  still  preserved  and  recognized  among  them  in  all  its  original  force. 
It  explains  the  tenacity  with  which  the  fragments  of  the  old  confederacy 
still  cling'  together.  If  either  of  the  five  tribes  had  seceded  from  the  con- 
federacy  it  would  have  severed  the  bond  of  kin,  although  this  would  have 
been  felt  but  slightly.  But  had  they  fallen  into  collision  it  would  have 
turned  the  gens  of  the  Wolf  against  their  gentile  kindred,  Bear  against  Bear; 
in  a word,  brother  against  brother.  The  history  of  the  Iroquois  demon- 
strates the  reality  as  well  as  persistency  of  the  bond  kin,  and  the  fidelity 
with  which  it  was  respected.  During  the  long  period  through  which  the 
confederacy  endured  they  never  fell  into  anarchy  nor  ruptured  the  organi- 
zation. 

The  “ Long  House”  (Ho-de! -no- sole)  was  made  the  symbol  of  the  con- 
federacy,1 and  they  styled  themselves  the  “People  of  the  Long  House” 
(Ho-de' -no-scm-nee).  This  was  the  name,  and  the  only  name,  with  which 
they  distinguished  themselves.  The  confederacy  produced  a gentile  society 
more  complex  than  that  of  a single  tribe,  but  it  was  still  distinctively  a gentile 
society.  It  was,  however,  a stage  of  progress  in  the  direction  of  a nation, 
for  nationality  is  reached  under  gentile  institutions.  Coalescence  is  the 
last  stage  in  this  process  The  four  Athenian  tribes  coalesced  in  Attica  into 
a nation  by  the  intermingling  of  the  tribes  in  the  same  area,  and  by  the 
gradual  disappearance  of  geographical  lines  between  them.  The  tribal 
names  and  organizations  remained  in  full  vitality  as  before,  but  without  the 
basis  of  an  independent  territory.  When  political  society  was  instituted  on 
the  basis  of  the  deme  or  township,  and  all  the  residents  of  the  deme  became 
a body  politic,  irrespective  of  their  gens  or  tribe,  the  coalescence  became 
complete 

The  coalescence  of  the  Latin  and  Sabine  gentes  into  the  Roman  people 

irThe  Long  House  was  not  peculiar  to  the  Iroquois,  hut  used  by  many  other  tribes,  as  the  Pow- 
hattan  Indians  of  Virginia,  the  Nyacks  of  Long  Island,  and  other  tribes. 


MORGAN.] 


OBJECTS  OF  THE  COUNCIL. 


35 


and  nation  was  a result  of  the  same  processes.  In  all  alike  the  gens,  phra- 
try,  and  tribe  were  the  first  three  stages  of  organization.  The  confederacy 
followed  as  the  fourth.  But  it  does  not  appear,  either  among  the  Grecian 
or  Latin  tribes  in  the  Later  Period  of  barbarism,  that  it  became  more  than 
a loose  league  for  offensive  and  defensive  purposes.  Of  the  nature  and 
details  of  organization  of  the  Grecian  and  Latin  confederacies  our  knowl- 
edge is  limited  and  imperfect,  because  the  facts  are  buried  in  the  obscurity 
of  the  traditionary  period.  The  process  of  coalescence  arises  later  than  the 
confederacy  in  gentile  society;  but  it  was  a necessary  as  well  as  a vital 
stage  of  progress  by  means  of  which  the  nation,  the  state,  and  political 
society  were  at  last  attained.  Among  the  Iroquois  tribes  it  had  not  mani- 
fested itself. 

The  valley  of  Onondaga,  as  the  seat  of  the  central  tribe,  and  the  place 
where  the  Council  Brand  was  supposed  to  be  perpetually  burning,  was  the 
usual  though  not  the  exclusive  place  for  holding  the  councils  of  the  con- 
federacy. In  ancient  times  it  was  summoned  to  convene  in  the  autumn  of 
each  year,  but  public  exigencies  often  rendered  its  meetings  more  frequent. 
Each  tribe  had  power  to  summon  the  council,  and  to  appoint  the  time  and 
place  of  meeting  at  the  council-house  of  either  tribe,  when  circumstances 
rendered  a change  from  the  usual  place  at  Onondaga  desirable.  But  the 
council  had  no  power  to  convene  itself. 

Originally  the  principal  object  of  the  council  was  to  raise  up  sachems 
to  fill  vacancies  in  the  ranks  of  the  ruling  body  occasioned  by  death  or 
deposition;  but  it  transacted  all  other  business  which  concerned  the  com- 
mon welfare.  In  course  of  time,  as  they  multiplied  in  numbers  and  tlieir 
intercourse  with  foreign  tribes  became  more  extended,  the  council  fell  into 
three  distinct  kinds,  which  may  be  distinguished  as  Civil,  Mourning,  and 
Religious.  The  first  declared  war  and  made  peace,  sent  and  received  em- 
bassies, entered  into  treaties  with  foreign  tribes,  regulated  the  affairs  of 
subjugated  tribes,  and  took  all  needful  measures  to  promote  the  general 
welfare.  The  second  raised  up  sachems  and  invested  them  with  office.  It 
received  the  name  of  Mourning  Council  because  the  first  of  its  ceremonies 
was  the  lament  for  the  deceased  ruler  whose  vacant  place  was  to  be  filled. 
The  third  was  held  for  the  observance  of  a general  religious  festival.  It 


36  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE  LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


was  made  an  occasion  for  the  confederated  tribes  to  unite  under  the  auspices 
of  a general  council  in  the  observance  of  common  religious  rites ; but  as 
the  Mourning  Council  was  attended  with  many  of  the  same  ceremonies  it 
came  in  time  to  answer  for  both.  It  is  now  the  only  council  they  hold,  as 
the  civil  powers  of  the  confederacy  terminated  with  the  supremacy  over 
them  of  the  state. 

When  the  sachems  met  in  council  at  the  time  and  place  appointed,  and 
the  usual  reception  ceremony  had  been  performed,  they  arranged  them- 
selves in  two  divisions  and  seated  themselves  upon  opposite  sides  of  the 
council-fire.  Upon  one  side  were  the  Mohawk,  Onondaga,  and  Seneca 
sachems.  The  tribes  they  represented  were,  when  in  council,  brother  tribes 
to  each  other  and  father  tribes  to  the  other  two.  In  like  manner  their 
sachems  were  brothers  to  each  other  and  fathers  to  those  opposite.  They 
constituted  a phratry  of  tribes  and  of  sachems,  by  an  extension  of  the  principle 
which  united  gentes  in  a phratry.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  fire  were  the 
Oneida  and  Cayuga  and  at  a later  day  the  Tuscarora  sachems.  The  tribes  they 
represented  were  brother  tribes  to  each  other  and  son  tribes  to  the  opposite 
three.  Their  sachems  also  were  brothers  to  each  other,  and  sons  of  those  in 
the  opposite  division.  They  formed  a second  tribal  phratry.  As  the  Oneidas 
were  a subdivision  of  the  Mohawks,  and  the  Cayugas  a subdivision  of  the 
Onondagas  or  Senecas,  they  were  in  reality  junior  tribes;  whence  their 
relation  of  seniors  and  juniors,  and  the  application  of  the  pliratric  principle. 
When  the  tribes  are  named  in  council  the  Mohawks,  by  precedence,  are 
mentioned  first.  Their  tribal  epithet  was  “The  Shield”  ( Da-gd-e-o'-dci ). 
The  Onondagas  came  next,  under  the  epithet  of  “ Name-Bearer”  (Ho-de-san- 
no'-ge-td ),  because  they  had  been  appointed  to  select  and  name  the  fifty 
original  sachems.  Next  in  the  order  of  precedence  were  the  Senecas,  under 
the  epithet  of  “Door-Keeper”  (Ho-nan-ne-ho' -ont)  They  were  made  per- 
petual keepers  of  the  western  door  of  the  Long  House.  The  Oneidas, 
under  the  epithet  of  “Great  Tree”  (. Ne-ar'-de-on-dar' -go-war ),  and  the 
Cayugas,  under  that  of  “Great  Pipe”  ( So-nus' -ho-gwar-to-war ),  were  named 
fourth  and  fifth.  The  Tuscaroras,  who  came  late  into  the  confederacy, 
were  named  last,  and  had  no  distinguishing  epithet.  Forms,  such  as  these, 
were  more  important  in  ancient  society  than  we  would  be  apt  to  suppose. 


MORGAN.  | 


DECISIONS  OF  THE  COUNCIL. 


37 


Unanimity  among  the  sachems  was  required  upon  all  public  questions, 
and  essential  to  the  validity  of  every  public  act.  It  was  a fundamental  law 
of  the  confederacy.  They  adopted  a method  for  ascertaining  the  opinions 
of  the  members  of  the  council  which  dispensed  with  the  necessity  of  casting 
votes.  Moreover,  they  were  entirely  unacquainted  with  the  principle  of 
majorities  and  minorities  in  the  action  of  councils.  They  voted  in  council 
by  tribes,  and  the  sachems  of  each  tribe  were  required  to  be  of  one  mind 
to  form  a decision.  Recognizing  unanimity  as  a necessary  principle,  the 
founders  of  the  confederacy  divided  the  sachems  of  each  tribe  into  classes 
as  a means  for  its  attainment.  This  will  be  seen  by  consulting  the  table 
(supra,  p.  30).  No  sachem  was  allowed  to  express  an  opinion  in  council  in 
the  nature  of  a vote  until  he  had  first  agreed  with  the  sachem  or  sachems 
of  his  class  upon  the  opinion  to  be  expressed,  and  had  been  appointed  to 
act  as  speaker  for  the  class.  Thus  the  eight  Seneca  sachems  being  in  four 
classes,  could  have  but  four  opinions,  and  the  ten  Cayuga  sachems,  being 
in  the  same  number  of  classes,  could  have  but  four.  In  this  manner  the 
sachems  in  each  class  were  first  brought  to  unanimity  among  themselves. 
A cross-consultation  was  then  held  between  the  four  sachems  appointed  to 
speak  for  the  four  classes ; and  when  they  had  agreed  they  designated  one 
of  their  number  to  express  their  resulting  opinion,  which  was  the  answer  of 
their  tribe.  When  the  sachems  of  the  several  tribes  had,  by  this  ingenious 
method,  become  of  one  mind  separately,  it  remained  to  compare  their  sev- 
eral opinions,  and  if  they  agreed  the  decision  of  the  council  was  made.  If 
they  failed  of  agreement  the  measure  was  defeated  and  the  council  was  at 
an  end.  The  five  persons  appointed  to  express  the  decision  of  the  five 
tribes  may  possibly  explain  the  appointment  and  the  functions  of  the  six 
electors,  so  called,  in  the  Aztec  confederacy. 

By  this  method  of  gaining  assent  the  equality  and  independence  of  the 
several  tribes  were  recognized  and  preserved.  If  any  sachem  was  obdurate 
or  unreasonable,  influences  were  brought  to  bear  upon  him,  through  the 
preponderating  sentiment,  which  he  could  not  well  resist,  so  that  it  seldom 
happened  that  inconvenience  or  detriment  resulted  from  their  adherence  to 
the  rule.  Whenever  all  efforts  to  procure  unanimity  had  failed,  the  whole 
matter  was  laid  aside  because  further  action  had  become  impossible. 


88  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


Under  a confederacy  of  tribes  the  office  of  general  (Hos-ga-d-geh' -cla- 
go-wa),  “Great  War  Soldier,”  makes  its  first  appearance.  Cases  would  now 
arise  when  the  several  tribes  in  their  confederate  capacity  would  be  engaged 
in  war,  and  the  necessity  for  a general  commander  to  direct  the  movements 
of  the  united  bands  would  be  felt.  The  introduction  of  this  office  as  a 
permanent  feature  in  the  government  was  a great  event  in  the  history  of 
human  progress.  It  was  the  beginning  of  a differentiation  of  the  military 
from  the  civil  power,  which,  when  completed,  changed  essentially  the 
external  manifestation  of  the  government;  but  even  in  later  stages  of 
progress,  when  the  military  spirit  predominated,  the  essential  character  of 
the  government  was  not  changed.  Gentilism  arrested  usurpation.  With 
the  rise  of  the  office  of  general,  the  government  was  gradually  changed 
from  a government  of  one  power  into  a government  of  two  powers.  The 
functions  of  government  became,  in  course  of  time,  co-ordinated  between 
the  two.  This  new  office  was  the  germ  of  that  of  a chief  executive  mag'is 
trate,  for  out  of  the  general  came  the  king,  the  emperor,  and  the  president, 
as  elsewhere  suggested.  The  office  sprang  from  the  military  necessities  of 
society,  and  had  a logical  development. 

When  the  Iroquois  confederacy  was  formed,  or  soon  after  that  event 
two  permanent  war-chiefships  were  created  and  named,  and  both  were 
assigned  to  the  Seneca  tribe.  One  of  them  ( Ta-ivan' -ne-ars,  signifying 
needle-breaker)  was  made  hereditary  in  the  Wolf,  and  the  other  ( So-no'-so - 
wd,  signifying  great  oyster  shell)  in  the  Turtle  gens.  The  reason  assigned 
for  giving  them  both  to  the  Senecas  was  the  greater  danger  of  attack  at 
the  west  end  of  their  territories.  They  were  elected  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  sachems,  were  raised  up  by  a general  council,  and  were  equal  in 
rank  and  power.  Another  account  states  that  they  were  created  later. 
They  discovered  immediately  after  the  confederacy  was  formed  that  the 
structure  of  the  Long  House  was  incomplete,  because  there  were  no  officers 
to  execute  the  military  commands  of  the  confederacy.  A council  was  con- 
vened to  remedy  the  omission,  which  established  the  two  perpetual  war- 
chiefs  named.  As  general  commanders  they  had  charge  of  the  military 
affairs  ot  the  confederacy,  and  the  command  of  its  joint  forces  when  united 
in  a general  expedition.  Governor  Blacksnake,  recently  deceased,  held  the 


MORGAN.  J 


ORGANIZATION  OF  SOCIETY. 


39 


office  first  named,  thus  showing  that  the  succession  has  been  regularly 
maintained.  The  creation  of  two  principal  war-chiefs  instead  of  one,  and 
with  equal  powers,  argues  a subtle  and  calculating  policy  to  prevent  the 
domination  of  a single  man  even  in  their  military  affairs.  They  did  with- 
out experience  precisely  as  the  Romans  did  in  creating  two  consuls  instead 
of  one,  after  they  had  abolished  the  office  of  rex.  Two  consuls  would 
balance  the  military  power  between  them,  and  prevent  either  from  becom- 
ing supreme.  Among  the  Iroquois  this  office  never  became  influential. 

In  Indian  ethnography  the  subjects  of  primary  importance  are  the 
gens,  phratry,  tribe,  and  confederacy.  They  exhibit  the  organization  of 
society.  Next  to  these  are  the  tenure  and  functions  of  the  office  of  sachem 
and  chief,  the  functions  of  the  council  of  chiefs,  and  the  tenure  and  func- 
tions of  the  office  of  principal  war-chief.  When  these  are  ascertained  the 
structure  and  principles  of  their  governmental  system  will  be  known.  A 
knowledge  of  their  usages  and  customs,  of  their  arts  and  inventions,  and 
of  their  plan  of  life  will  then  fill  out  the  picture.  In  the  work  of  Ameri- 
can investigators  too  little  attention  has  been  given  to  the  former.  They 
still  afford  a rich  field  in  which  much  information  may  be  gathered.  Our 
knowledge,  which  is  now  general,  should  be  made  minute  and  comparative. 
The  Indian  tribes  in  the  Lower  and  in  the  Middle  Status  of  barbarism 
represent  two  of  the  great  stages  of  progress  from  savagery  to  civilization. 
Our  own  remote  forefathers  passed  through  the  same  conditions,  one  after 
the  other,  and  possessed,  there  can  scarcely  be  a doubt,  the  same,  or  very 
similar  institutions,  with  many  of  the  same  usages  and  customs.  However 
little  we  may  be  interested  in  the  American  Indians  personally,  their  expe- 
rience touches  us  more  nearly,  as  an  exemplification  of  the  experience  of 
our  own  ancestors.  Our  primary  institutions  root  themselves  in  a prior 
gentile  society  in  which  the  gens,  phratry,  and  tribe  were  the  organic 
series,  and  in  which  the  council  of  chiefs  was  the  instrument  of  government. 
The  phenomena  of  their  ancient  society  must  have  presented  many  points 
in  common  with  that  of  the  Iroquois  and  other  Indian  tribes.  This  view 
of  the  matter  lends  an  additional  interest  to  the  study  of  comparative  insti- 
tutions of  mankind. 


40  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AME1UCAN  ABORIGINES. 


The  Iroquois  confederacy  is  an  excellent  exemplification  of  a gentile 
society  under  this  form  of  organization.  It  seems  to  realize  all  the  capa- 
bilities of  gentile  institutions  in  the  Lower  Status  of  barbarism,  leaving  an 
opportunity  for  further  development,  but  no  subsequent  plan  of  govern- 
ment until  the  institutions  of  political  society,  founded  upon  territory  and 
upon  property,  with  the  establishment  of  which  the  gentile  organization 
would  be  overthrown.  The  intermediate  stages  were  transitional,  remain- 
ing military  democracies  to  the  end,  except  where  tyrannies  founded  upon 
usurpation  were  temporarily  established  in  their  places.  The  confederacy 
of  the  Iroquois  was  essentially  democratic,  because  it  was  composed  of 
gentes  each  of  which  was  organized  upon  the  common  principles  of  democ- 
racy, not  of  the  highest  but  of  the  primitive  type ; and  because  the  tribes 
reserved  the  right  of  local  self-government.  They  conquered  other  tribes 
and  held  them  in  subjection,  as  for  example  the  Delawares ; but  the  latter 
remained  under  the  government  of  their  own  chiefs,  and  added  nothing  to 
the  strength  of  the  confederacy.  It  was  impossible  in  this  state  of  society 
to  unite  tribes  under  one  government  who  spoke  different  languages,  or  to 
hold  conquered  tribes  under  tribute  with  any  benefit  but  the  tribute. 

This  exposition  of  the  Iroquois  confederacy  is  far  from  exhaustive  of 
the  facts,  but  it  has  been  carried  far  enough  to  answer  my  present  object. 
The  Iroquois  were  a vigorous  and  intelligent  people,  with  a brain  approach- 
ing in  volume  the  Aryan  average.  Eloquent  in  oratory,  vindictive  in  war, 
and  indomitable  in  perseverance,  they  have  gained  a place  in  history.  If 
their  military  achievements  are  dreary  with  the  atrocities  of  savage  warfare, 
they  have  illustrated  some  of  the  highest  virtues  of  mankind  in  ther  rela- 
tions with  each  other.  The  confederacy  which  they  organized  must  be 
regarded  as  a remarkable  production  of  wisdom  and  sagacity.  One  of  its 
avowed  objects  was  peace — to  remove  the  cause  of  strife  by  uniting  their 
tribes  under  one  government,  and  then  extending  it  by  incorporating  other 
tribes  of  the  same  name  and  lineage.  They  urged  the  Eries  and  the  Neu- 
tral Nation  to  become  members  of  the  confederacy,  and  for  their  refusal 
expelled  them  from  their  borders.  Such  an  insight  into  the  highest  objects 
ot  government  is  creditable  to  their  intelligence.  Their  numbers  were 


MORGAN.] 


THE  IROQUOIS  CONFEDERACY. 


41 


small,  but  they  counted  in  their  ranks  a large  number  of  able  men.  This 
proves  the  high  grade  of  the  stock.* 


* For  the  prevalence  of  the  organization  into  gentes  or  clans  among  the  Indian  tribes,  see  Ancient 
Society,  ch.  vi.  Since  the  publication  of  that  work  the  same  organization  has  been  found  by  Mr.  Ban- 
delier  by  personal  exploration  among  the  Pueblo  tribes  in  New  Mexico,  who  speak  theQudris  language, 
among  whom  his  work  thus  far  has  been  confined.  Descent  is  in  the  female  line.  The  same  idefatiga- 
ble  student  has  found  very  satisfactory  evidence  of  the  same  organization  among  the  ancient  Mexicans. 
(See  article  on  “ The  Social  Oiganization  and  Mode  of  Government  of  the  Ancient  Mexicans,”  Peabody 
Museum,  Twelfth  Annual  Report,  p.  576.)  He  has  also  found  additional  evidence  of  the  same  organiza- 
tion among  the  Sedentary  Tribes  in  Central  America.  It  seems  highly  probable  that  this  organization 
was  anciently  universal  among  the  tribes  in  the  Ganowirnian  family. 


C H A P T E R II.  • 

THE  LAW  OF  HOSPITALITY  AND  ITS  GENERAL  PRACTICE. 

When  America  was  discovered  in  its  several  parts  the  Indian  tribes 
were  found  in  dissimilar  conditions.  The  least  advanced  tribes  were  with- 
out the  art  of  pottery,  and  without  horticulture,  and  were,  therefore,  in  sav- 
agery. lint  in  the  arts  of  life  they  were  advanced  as  far  as  is  implied  by  its 
Upper  Status,  which  found  them  in  possession  of  the  bow  and  arrow.  Such 
were  the  tribes  in  the  Valley  of  the  Columbia,  in  the  Hudson  Bay  Terri- 
tory, in  parts  of  Canada,  California,  and  Mexico,  and  some  of  the  coast 
tribes  of  South  America.  The  use  of  pottery,  and  the  cultivation  of  maize 
and  plants,  were  unknown  among  them.  They  depended  for  subsistence 
upon  fish,  bread,  roots,  and  game.  The  second  class  were  intermediate 
between  them  and  the  Village  Indians.  They  subsisted  upon  fish  and  game 
and  the  products  of  a limited  horticulture,  and  were  in  the  Lower  Status  of 
barbarism.  Such  were  the  Iroquois,  the  New  England  and  Virginia  Indians, 
the  Creeks,  Cherokees,  and  Choctaws,  the  Shawnees,  Miamis,  Mandans, 
Minnitarees,  and  other  tribes  of  the  United  States  east  of  the  Missouri  River, 
together  with  certain  tribes  of  Mexico  and  South  America  in  the  same  con- 
dition of  advancement.  Many  of  them  lived  in  villages,  some  of  which 
were  stockaded,  but  village  life  was  not  as  distinctive  and  common  among 
them  as  it  was  among  the  most  advanced  tribes.  The  third  class  were  the 
Village  Indians  proper,  who  depended  almost  exclusively  upon  horticulture 
tor  subsistence,  cultivating  maize  and  plants  by  irrigation.  They  con- 
structed joint  tenement  houses  ot  adobe  bricks  and  of  stone,  usually  more 
than  one  story  high.  Such  were  the  tribes  of  New  Mexico,  Mexico,  Cen- 
tral America,  and  upon  the  plateau  of  the  Andes.  These  tribes  were  in  the 
Middle  Status  of  barbarism. 


42 


MORGAN.] 


ETHNIC  OR  CULTURE  PERIODS. 


43 


The  weapons,  arts,  usages,  and  customs,  inventions,  architecture,  insti- 
tutions, and  form  of  government  of  all  alike  bear  the  impress  of  a common 
mind,  and  reveal,  in  their  wide  range,  the  successive  stages  of  development 
of  the  same  original  conceptions.  Our  first,  mistake  consisted  in  overrating 
the  degree  of  advancement  of  the  Village  Indians,  in  comparison  with  that 
of  the  other  tribes;  our  second  in  underrating  that  of  the  latter;  from  which 
resulted  a third,  that  of  separating  one  from  the  other,  and  regarding  them 
as  different  races.  The  evidence  of  their  unity  of  origin  has  now  accumu- 
lated to  such  a degree  as  to  leave  no  reasonable  doubt  upon  the  question. 
The  first  two  classes  of  tribes  always  held  the  preponderating  power,  at 
least  in  North  America,  and  furnished  the  migrating  bands  which  replen- 
ished the  ranks  of  the  Village  Indians,  as  well  as  the  continent,  with  inhabit- 
ants. It  remained  for  the  Village  Indians  to  invent  the  process  of  smelting 
iron  ore  to  attain  to  the  Upper  Status  of  barbarism,  and,  beyond  that,  to 
invent  a phonetic  alphabet  to  reach  the  first  stage  of  civilization.  One 
entire  ethnical  period  intervened  between  the  highest  class  of  Indians  and 
the  beginning-  of  civilization.* 

It  seems  singular  that  the  Village  Indians,  who  first  became  possessed 
of  maize,  the  great  American  cereal,  and  of  the  art  of  cultivation,  did  not 
rise  to  supremacy  over  the  continent.  With  their  increased  numbers  and 
more  stable  subsistence  they  might  have  been  expected  to  extend  their 


* PROPOSED  ETHNIC  OR  CULTURE  PERIODS. 


PERIOD  OF  SAVAGERY. 

Subperiods. 

Older  Period 

Middle  Period 


Later  Period 


PERIOD  OF  BARBARISM. 


Conditions.  Subperiods.  Conditions. 

Lower  Status.  Older  Period Lower  Status. 

Middle  Status.  Middle  Period Middle  Status. 

Upper  Status.  Later  Period Upper  Status. 

PERIOD  OF  CIVILIZATION. 


RECAPITULATION. 

Older  Period  of  Savagery. — From  the  infancy  of  the  human  race  to  the  knowledge  of  fire  and  the 
acquisition  of  a fish  subsistence. 

Middle  Period. — From  the  acquisition  of  a fish  subsistence  to  the  invention  of  the  how  and  arrow. 

Later  Period. — From  the  invention  of  the  how  and  arrow  to  the  invention  of  the  art  of  pottery. 

Older  Period  of  Barbarism. — From  a knowledge  of  pottery  to  the  domestication  of  animals  in  the 
eastern  hemisphere,  and  in  the  western  to  the  cultivation  of  maize  and  plants  by  irrigation. 

Middle  Period. — From  the  domestication  of  animals,  <fc.,  to  the  invention  of  the  process  of  smelting 
iron  ore. 

Later  Period. — From  the  knowledge  of  iron  to  the  invention  of  a phonetic  alphabet,  or  to  the  use  of 
hieroglyphs  upon  stone  as  an  equivalent. 

Civilization. — From  the  invention  of  a phonetic  alphabet  a nd  the  use  of  letters  in  literary  composition 
to  the  present  time. 


44  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


power  and  spread  tlieir  migrating  bands  over  the  most  valuable  areas  to 
the  gradual  displacement  of  the  ruder  tribes.  But  in  this  respect  they  sig- 
nally failed.  The  means  of  sustaining  life  among  the  latter  were  remarka- 
bly persistent.  The  higher  culture  of  the  Village  Indians,  such  as  it  was, 
did  not  enable  them  to  advance,  either  in  their  weapons  or  in  the  art  of 
war,  beyond  the  more  barbarous  tribes,  except  as  a superior  house  archi- 
tecture tended  to  render  their  villages  and  their  habitations  impregnable  to 
Indian  assault.  Moreover,  in  the  art  of  government  they  had  not  been  able 
to  rise  above  gentile  institutions  and  establish  political  society.  This  fact 
demonstrates  the  impossibility  of  privileged  classes  and  of  potentates,  under 
their  institutions,  with  power  to  enforce  the  labor  of  the  people  for  the  erec- 
tion of  palaces  for  their  use,  and  explains  the  absence  of  such  structures. 

Horticulture  and  other  domestic  arts  spread  from  the  Village  Indians 
to  the  tribes  in  the  Lower  Status  of  barbarism,  and  thus  advanced  them 
materially  in  their  onward  progress  toward  the  higher  condition  of  the  Vil- 
lage Indians.  Numerous  tribes  were  thus  raised  out  of  savagery  into  bar- 
barism by  appropriating  the  arts  of  life  of  tribes  above  them.  This 
process  has  been  a constant  phenomenon  in  the  history  of  the  human  race. 
It  is  well  illustrated  in  America,  where  the  Red  Race,  one  in  origin  and 
possessed  of  homogeneous  institutions,  were  in  three  different  ethnical 
conditions  or  stages  of  culture. 

There  are  certain  usages  and  customs  of  the  Indian  tribes  generally 
which  tend  to  explain  their  plan  of  life — their  large  households,  their 
houses,  and  their  house  architecture.  They  deserve  a careful  consideration 
and  even  further  investigation  beyond  the  bounds  of  our  present  knowledge. 
The  influence  of  American  civilization  has  very  generally  broken  up  their 
old  plan  of  life,  and  introduced  a new  one  more  analogous  to  our  own. 
It  has  been  much  the  same  in  Spanish  America.  The  old  usages  and  cus- 
toms, in  the  particulars  about  to  be  stated,  have  now  so  far  disappeared  in 
their  pure  forms  that  their  recovery  is  not  free  from  difficulty.  Those  to  be 
considered  are  the  following : 

I.  The  law  of  hospitality. 

II.  Communism,  in  living. 

III.  The  ownership  of  lands  in  common. 


MOKGAN.] 


THE  LAW  OF  HOSPITALITY. 


45 


IV.  The  practice  of  having  hut  one  prepared  meal  each  day — a dinner. 

V.  Their  separation  at  meals , the  men  eating  first  and  by  themselves , and 
the  women  and  children  afterards. 

The  discussion  will  be  confined  to  the  period  of  European  discovery  and 
to  later  periods  while  these  practices  remained.  The  object  will  be  to 
show  that  these  usages  and  customs  existed  among  them  when  America 
was  discovered  in  its  several  parts,  and  that  they  remained  in  practice  for 
some  time  after  these  several  periods. 


THE  LAW  OF  HOSPITALITY. 

Among  the  Iroquois  hospitality  was  an  established  usage.  If  a man 
entered  an  Indian  house  in  any  of  their  villages,  whether  a villager,  a 
tribesman,  or  a stranger,  it  was  the  duty  of  the  women  therein  to  set  food 
before  him.  An  omission  to  do  this  would  have  been  a discourtesy  amount- 
ing to  an  affront.  If  hungry,  he  ate  ; if  not  hungry,  courtesy  required  that 
he  should  taste  the  food  and  thank  the  giver.  This  would  be  repeated  at 
every  house  he  entered,  and  at  whatever  hour  in  the  day.  As  a custom  it  was 
upheld  by  a rigorous  public  sentiment.  The  same  hospitality  was  extended 
to  strangers  from  their  own  and  from  other  tribes.  Upon  the  advent  of 
the  European  race  among  them  it  was  also  extended  to  them.  This  char- 
acteristic of  barbarous  society,  wherein  food  was  the  principal  concern  of 
#life,  is  a remarkable  fact.  The  law  of  hospitality,  as  administered  by  the 
American  aborigines,  tended  to  the  final  equalization  of  subsistence.  Hun- 
ger and  destitution  could  not  exist  at  one  end  of  an  Indian  village  or  in 
one  section  of  an  encampment  while  plenty  prevailed  elsewhere  in  the 
same  village  or  encampment.  It  reveals  a plan  of  life  among  them  at  the 
period  of  European  discovery  which  has  not  been  sufficiently  considered. 

A singular  illustration  of  the  powerful  influence  of  the  custom  upon 
the  Indian  mind  came  to  my  notice  some  years  ago  at  the  Seneca  Reserva- 
tion in  New  York.  A Seneca  chief,  well  to  do  in  the  world,  with  farm 
lands  and  domestic  animals  which  afforded  him  a comfortable  subsistence, 
had  lost  his  wife  by  death,  and  his  daughter,  educated  in  the  usages  of 


46  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


civilized  life,  took  the  position  of  housekeeper.  The  old  man,  referring  to 
the  ancient  custom,  requested  his  daughter  to  keep  the  usual  food  con- 
stantly prepared  ready  to  offer  to  any  person  who  entered  their  house,  saying 
that  lie  did  not  wish  to  see  this  custom  of  their  forefathers  laid  aside.  Their 
changed  condition,  and  particularly  the  adoption  of  the  regular  meals  of 
civilized  society,  for  the  time  of  which  the  visitor  might  reasonably  be 
expected  to  wait,  did  not  in  his  mind  outweigh  the  sanctity  of  the  custom.1 

In  July,  1743,  John  Bartram  made  a journey  from  Philadelphia  to 
Onondaga  to  attend,  with  Conrad  Weisar,  a council  of  the  Onondaga,  Mo- 
hawk, Oneida,  and  Cayuga  chiefs.  At  Shamokin  he  quartered  with  a 
trader  who  had  an  Indian  wife,  and  at  a village  of  the  Delawares.  “As 
soon  as  we  alighted,”  he  remarks,  “ they  showed  us  where  to  lay  our  lug- 
gage, and  then  brought  us  a bowl  of  boiled  squashes,  cold.  This  I then 
thought  poor  entertainment,  but  before  I came  back  I had  learned  not  to 
despise  good  Indian  food.  ■ This  hospitality  is  agreeable  to  the  honest  sim- 
plicity of  ancient  times,  and  is  so  persistently  adhered  to  that  not  only  what 
is  already  dressed  is  immediately  set  before  a traveler,  but  the  most  press- 
ing business  is  postponed  to  prepare  the  best  they  can  get  for  him,  keeping 
it  as  a maxim  that  he  must  always  be  hungry.  Of  this  we  found  the  good 
effects  in  the  flesh  and  bread  they  got  ready  for  us.”2  We  have  here  a per- 
fect illustration  among  the  Delawares  of  the  Iroquois  rule  to  set  food  before 
a person  when  he  flrst  entered  the  house.  Although  they  had  in  this  case 
nothing  better  than  boiled  squash  to  offer,  it  was  done  immediately,  after 
which  they  commenced  preparing  a more  substantial  repast.  Delaware  and 
Iroquois  usages  were  the  same. 

The  council  at  Onondaga  lasted  two  days,  at  the  close  of  which  they 
had  each  day  a dinner  in  common.  “This  council  [flrst  day]  was  followed 
by  a feast.  After  four  o’clock  we  all  dined  together  upon  four  great  kettles  of 
Indian-corn  soup,  which  we  emptied,  and  then  every  chief  retired  to  his 
home.  * * * The  conference  [second  day]  held  till  three,  after  which 

we  dined.  The  repast  consisted  of  three  great  kettles  of  Indian-corn  soup, 
or  thin  hominy,  with  dried  eels  and  other  fish  boiled  in  it,  and  one  kettle 


1 William  Parker  was  the  chief  named,  a noble  specimen  of  a Seneca  Iroquois. 

2 Bartram’s  Observations,  &c.,  London  edition,  1751,  p.  16. 


MORGAN.  J 


VIRGINIA  INDIANS. 


47 


full  of  young  squashes  and  their  flowers  boiled  in  water,  and  a little  meal 
mixed.  This  dish  was  but  weak  food.  Last  of  all  was  served  a great  bowl- 
full  of  Indian  dumplings  made  of  new  soft  corn  cut  or  scraped  off  the  ear, 
with  the  addition  of  some  boiled  beans,  lapped  well  in  Indian-corn  leaves. 
This  is  good  hearty  provision.”1 

“Again,”  he  remarks,  “we  prepared  for  setting  forward,  and  many  of 
the  chiefs  came  once  more  to  make  their  farewells.  Some  of  them  brought 
us  provisions  for  our  journey.  We  shook  hands  again  and  set  out  at  nine.”2 

One  of  the  earliest  notices  of  the  hospitality  of  the  Indian  tribes  of 
the  United  States  was  by  the  expedition  of  Philip  Amidas  and  Arthur  Bar- 
low,  under  the  auspices  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  which  visited  the  Algonkin 
tribes  of  North  Carolina  in  the  summer  of  1584.  They  landed  at  the  Island 
of  Wocoken,  off  Albemarle  Sound,  when  “there  came  down  from  all  parts 
great  store  of  people,”  whose  chief  was  Granganimeo.  “ He  was  very  just 
of  his  promises,  for  oft  we  trusted  him,  and  would  come  within  his  day  to 
keep  his  word.  He  sent  us  commonly  every  day  a brace  of  ducks,  conies, 
hares,  and  fish,  sometimes  melons,  walnuts,  cucumbers,  pease,  and  divers 
roots.  * * * After  this  acquaintance,  myself,  with  seven  more,  went 

thirty  miles  into  the  river  Occam,  that  runneth  toward  the  city  Skicoack,  and 
the  evening  following  we  came  to  an  isle  called  Roanoak,  from  the  harbor 
where  we  entered  seven  leagues:  At  the  north  end  were  nine  houses,  builded 
with  cedar,  fortified  round  with  sharp  trees  [palisaded]  and  the  entrance  like 
a turnpike  [turnspit].  When  we  came  towards  it,  the  wife  of  Granganimeo 
came  running  out  to  meet  us  (her  husband  was  absent),  commanding  her 
people  to  draw  our  boat  ashore  for  beating  on  the  billows.  Others  she 
appointed  to  carry  us  on  their  backs  aland,  others  to  bring  our  oars  into 
the  house  for  stealing.  When  Ave  came  into  the  other  room  (for  there  were 
five  in  the  house)  she  caused  us  to  sit  down  by  a great  fire;  and  after  took 
off  our  clothes  and  washed  them,  of  some  our  stockins,  and  some  our 
feet  in  warm  water;  and  she  herself  took  much  pains  to' see  all  things  well 
ordered  and  to  provide  us  victuals.  After  we  had  thus  dried  ourselves  she 
brought  us  into  an  inner  room,  where  she  sat  on  the  board  standing  along 
the  house,  somewhat  like  frumenty,  sodden  venison,  and  roasted  fish;  in 

2 lb.,  p.  G:j. 


1 Bar  train’s  Journal,  p.  59. 


48  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


like  manner  melons  raw,  boiled  roots,  and  fruits  of  divers  kinds.  Their 
drink  is  commonly  water  boiled  with  ginger,  sometimes  with  sassafras,  and 
wholesome  herbs.  * * * A more  kind,  loving  people  cannot  be  Be- 

yond this  isle  is  the  main  land,  and  the  great  river  Occam,  on  which  stand- 
eth  a town  called  Pomeiok.”1 

This  is  about  the  first,  if  not  the  first,  English  picture  we  have  of 
Indian  life  and  of  English  and  Indian  intercourse  in  America.  It  is  highly 
creditable  to  both  parties;  to  the  Indians  for  their  unaffected  kindness  and 
hospitality,  and  to  the  English  for  their  appreciation  of  both,  and  for  the 
absence  of  any  act  of  injustice.  At  the  same  time  it  was  simply  an  appli- 
cation by  the  natives  of  their  rules  of  hospitality  among  themselves  to  their 
foreign  visitors,  and  not  a new  thing  in  their  experience. 

In  the  narrative  of  the  expedition  of  Hernando  de  Soto  to  Florida  in 
1539,  by  a gentleman  of  Elvas,  there  are  references  to  the  customs  of  the 
Indian  tribes  of  South  Carolina,  the  Cherokees,  Choctas,  and  Chickasas, 
and  of  some  of  the  tribes  west  of  the  Mississippi,  whom  the  expedition 
visited  one  after  another.  They  are  brief  and  incomplete,  but  sufficiently 
indicate  the  point  we  are  attempting  to  illustrate.  It  was  a hostile  rather 
than  a friendly  visitation,  and  the  naturally  free  hospitality  of  the  natives 
was  frequently  checked  and  turned  into  enemity,  but  many  instances  of 
friendly  intercourse  are  mentioned  in  this  narrative.  “ The  fourth  of  April 
the  governor  passed  by  a town  called  Altar.iaca,  and  the  tenth  of  the  month 
he  came  to  Ocute.  The  cacique  sent  him  two  thousand  Indians  with  a 
present,  to  wit,  many  conies  and  partridges,  bread  of  maize,  two  hens  and 
many  dogs.”2  Again:  “Two  leagues  before  he  came  to  Chiaha,  there  met 
him  fifteen  Indians  loaded  with  maize  which  the  cacique  had  sent;  and 
they  told  him  on  his  behalf  that  he  waited  his  coming  with  twenty  barns 
full  of  it.”3  “At  Ccxja  the  chief  commanded  his  Indians  to  void  their  houses, 
wherein  the  governor  and  his  men  were  lodged.  There  was  in  the  barns 
and  in  the  fields  great  store  of  maize  and  French  beans.  The  country  was 
greatly  inhabited  with  many  great  towns  and  many  sown  fields  which 

1 Smith’s  History  of  Virginia,  &c.  Reprint  from  London  edition  of  1627.  Richmond  edition, 
1819,  i,  83,  84.  Amidas  and  Barlow’s  account  is  also  in  Hakluyt’s  Coll,  of  Voyages,  iii,  301-7. 

2 Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana,  part  ii.  A Narrative  of  the  Expedition  of  Hernando  de 
Soto  into  Florida,  hy  a Gentleman  of  Elvas,  p.  139. 

3 lb.  p.  147. 


MORGAN.] 


BECKEWELDEB’S  GENERAL  ACCOUNT. 


49 


reached  from  one  to  the  other.”1  After  crossing  the  Mississippi,  of  which 
De  Soto  was  the  first  discoverer,  he  “rested  in  PacaJia  forty  days,  in  all 
which  time  the  two  caciques  served  him  with  great  store  of  fish,  mantles, 
and  skins,  and  strove  who  should  do  him  greatest  service.”2 

The  justly  celebrated  Moravian  missionary,  John  Heckewelder,  obtained, 
through  a long  experience,  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  Indian  tribes.  He  was  engaged  in  direct  missionary  labor, 
among  the  Delawares  and  Munsees  chiefly,  for  fifteen  years  (1771-1786)  on 
the  Muskingum  and  Cuyahoga  in  Ohio,  where,  besides  the  Delawares  and 
Munsees,  he  came  in  contact  with  Tuscaroras  and  other  tribes  of  Iroquois  lin- 
eage. He  was  conversant  with  the  usages  and  customs  of  the  Indian  tribes 
of  Pennsylvania  and  New  York.  His  general  knowledge  justifies  the  title 
of  his  work,  “History,  Manners,  and  Customs  of  the  Indian  Nations,  who 
once  inhabited  Pennsylvania  and  the  neighboring  States,”  and  gives  the 
highest  credibility  to  his  statements. 

In  discussing  the  general  character  of  the  Indians,  he  remarks  as  fol- 
lows: “They  think  that  he  [the  Great  Spirit]  made  the  earth  and  all  that 
it  contains  for  the  common  good  of  mankind;  when  he  stocked  the  country 
that  he  gave  them  with  plenty  of  game,  it  was  not  for  the  benefit  of  a few, 
but  of  all.  Everything  was  given  in  common  to  the  sons  of  men.  What- 
ever livetli  on  the  land,  whatsoever  groweth  out  of  the  earth,  and  all  that 
is  in  the  rivers  and  waters  flowing  through  the  same,  was  given  jointly  to 
all,  and  every  one  is  entitled  to  his  share.  From  this  principle  hospitality 
flows  as  from  its  source.  With  them  it  is  not  a virtue,  but  a strict  duty; 
hence  the)T  are  never  in  search  of  excuses  to  avoid  giving,  but  freely  sup- 
ply their  neighbors’ wants  from  the  stock  prepared  for  their  own  use.  They 
give  and  are  hospitable  to  all  without  exception,  and  will  always  share  with 
each  other  and  often  with  the  stranger  to  the  last  morsel..  They  rather, 
would  lie  down  themselves  on  an  empty  stomach  than  have  it  laid  to  their 
charge  that  they  had  neglected  their  duty  by  not  satisfying  the  wants  of 
the  stranger,  the  sick,  or  the  needy.  The  stranger  has  a claim  to  their  hos- 
pitality, partly  on  account  of  his  being  at  a distance  from  his  family  and 
friends,  and  partly  because  he  has  honored  them  with  his  visit  and  ought  to 


4 


1 lb.  p.  15'2. 


3 lb.  p.  175. 


50  HOUSES  AM)  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


leave  them  with  a good  impression  on  his  mind ; the  sick  and  the  poor 
because  they  have  a right  to  be  helped  out  of  the  common  stock,  for  if  the 
meat  they  have  been  served  with  was  taken  from  the  woods  it  was  common 
to  all  before  the  hunter  took  it;  if  corn  or  vegetables,  it  had  grown  out  of  the 
common  ground,  yet  not  by  the  power  of  man,  but  by  that  of  the  Great 
Spirit.”1 

This  is  a clear  and  definite  statement  of  the  principle  of  hospitality  as 
it  was  observed  by  the  Indian  tribes  at  the  epoch  of  their  discovery,  with 
the  Indians’  reasons  on  which  the  obligations  rested.  We  recognize  in  this 
law  of  hospitality  a conspicuous  virtue  of  mankind  in  barbarism. 

Lewis  and  Clarke  refer  to  the  usages  of  the  tribes  of  the  Missouri, 
which  were  precisely  the  same  as  those  of  the  Iroquois.  “It  is  the  custom 
of  all  the  nations  on  the  Missouri,”  they  remark,  “to  offer  every  white  man 
food  and  refreshments  when  he  first  enters  their  tents.”2  This  was  simply 
applying  their  rules  of  hospitality  among  themselves  to  their  white  visitors. 

About  1837-38  George  Catlin  wintered  at  the  Mandan  Village,  on 
the  Upper  Missouri.  lie  was  an  accurate  and  intelligent  observer,  and  his 
work  on  the  “ Manners  and  Customs  of  the  North  American  Indians”  is  a 
valuable  contribution  to  American  ethnography.  The  principal  Mandan 
village,  which  then  contained  fifty  houses  and  fifteen  hundred  people,  was 
surrounded  with  a palisade.  It  was  well  situated  for  game,  but  they  did 
not  depend  exclusively  upon  this  source  of  subsistence.  They  cultivated 
maize,  squashes,  pumpkins,  and  tobacco  in  garden  beds,  and  gathered  wild 
berries  and  a species  of  turnip  on  the  praries.  “ Buffalo  meat,  however,” 
says  Mr.  Catlin,  “ is  the  great  staple  and  staff  of  life  in  this  country,  and 
seldom,  if  ever,  fails  to  afford  them  an  abundant  means  of  subsistence. 
* * * During  the  summer  and  fall  months  they  use  the  meat  fresh,  and 

cook  it  in  a great  variety  of  ways — by  roasting,  broiling,  boiling,  stewing, 
smoking,  &c.,  and,  by  boiling  the  ribs  and  joints  with  the  marrow  in  them, 
make  a delicious  soup,  which  is  universally  used  and  in  vast  quantities. 
The  Mandans,  I find,  have  no  regular  or  stated  times  for  their  meals,  but 
generally  eat  about  twice  in  the  twenty-four  hours.  The  pot  is  always 


1 Heckewelder,  Indian  Nations,  Philadelphia  ed.,  1876,  p.  101. 

2 Travels,  etc.,  London  edition,  1814,  p.  649. 


MORGAN.) 


M AND  AN  HOSPITALITY. 


51 


boiling  over  the  lire,  and  any  one  who  is  hungry,  either  from  the  house- 
hold or  from  any  other  part  of  the  village,  has  a right  to  order  it  taken  off 
and  to  fall  too,  eating  as  he  pleases.  Such  is  an  unvarying  custom  among 
the  North  American  Indians,  and  I very  much  doubt  whether  the  civilized 
world  have  in  their  institutions  any  system  which  can  properly  be  called 
more  humane  and  charitable.  Every  man,  woman,  or  child  in  Indian  com- 
munities is  allowed  to  enter  any  one’s  lodge,  and  even  that  of  the  chief  of 
the  nation,  and  eat  when  they  are  hungry,  provided  misfortune  or  necessity 
has  drawn  them  to  it.  Even  so  can  the  poorest  and  most  worthless  drone  of 
the  nation,  if  he  is  too  lazy  to  hunt  or  to  supply  himself;  he  can  walk  into 
any  lodge,  and  every  one  will  share  with  him  as  long  as  there  is  anything 
to  eat.  He,  however,  who  thus  begs  when  he  is  able  to  hunt,  pays  dear 
for  his  meat,  for  he  is  stigmatized  with  the  disgraceful  epithet  of  poltroon 
and  beggar.”1  Mr.  Gatlin  puts  the  case  rather  strongly  when  he  turns  the 
free  hospitality  of  the  household  into  a right  of  the  guest  to  entertainment 
independently  of  their  consent.  It  serves  to  show  that  the  provisions  of  the 
household,  which,  as  he  elsewhere  states,  consisted  of  from  twenty  to  forty 
persons,  were  used  in  common,  and  that  each  household  shared  their  pro- 
visions in  the  exercise  of  hospitality  with  any  inhabitant  of  the  village  who 
came  to  the  house  hungry,  and  with  strangers  from  other  tribes  as  well. 
Moreover,  he  speaks  of  this  hospitality  as  universal  amongst  the  Indian 
tribes.  It  is  an  important  statement,  because  few  men  in  the  early  period 
of  intercourse  with  the  western  tribes  have  traveled  so  extensively  among 
them. 

The  tribes  of  the  Columbia  Valley  lived  upon  fish,  bread-roots,  and 
game.  Food  was  abundant  at  certain  seasons,  but  there  were  times  of 
scarcity  even  in  this  favored  area.  Whatever  provisions  they  had  were 
shared  freely  with  each  other,  with  guests,  and  with  strangers.  Lewis  and 
Clarke,  in  1804-1806,  visited  in  their  celebrated  expedition  the  tribes  of 
the  Missouri  and  of  the  Valley  of  the  Columbia.  They  experienced  tl  le 
same  generous  hospitality  whenever  the  Indians  possessed  any  food  to  offer, 
and  their  account  is  the  first  we  have  at  all  special  of  these  numerous  tribes. 
Frequent  references  are  made  to  their  hospitality.  The  Nez  Perc6s  “set 


'Manners  and  Customs  of  the  North  American  Indians,  Hazard’s  edition,  1857,  i,  200. 


52  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


before  them  a small  piece  of  buffalo  meat,  some  dried  salmon,  berries,  and 
several  kinds  of  roots.  Among  these  last  is  one  which  is  round  and  much 
like  an  onion  in  appearance,  and  sweet  to  the  taste.  It  is  called  quamash, 
and  is  eaten  either  in  its  natural  state  or  boiled  into  a kind  of  soup  or  made 
into  a cake,  which  is  then  called  pasheco.  After  the  long  abstinence,  this  was 
a sumptuous  treat ; and  we  returned  the  kindness  of  the  people  by  a few 
small  presents,  and  then  went  on  in  company  with  one  of  the  chiefs  to  a 
second  village,  in  the  same  plain,  at  a distance  of  two  miles.  Here  the 
party  was  treated  with  great  kindness,  and  passed  the  night.”1  Of  another 
tribe  they  remark,  “As  we  approached  the  village  most  of  the  women,  though 
apprised  of  our  being  expected,  fled  with  their  children  into  the  neighbor- 
ing woods.  The  men,  however,  received  us  without  any  apprehension,  and 
gave  us  a plentiful  supply  of  provisions.  The  plains  were  now  crowded 
with  Indians,  who  came  to  see  the  persons  of  the  whites  and  the  strange 
things  they  brought  with  them  ; but  as  our  guide  was  perfectly  a stranger 
to  their  language  we  could  converse  by  signs  only.”2 

The  Indians  of  the  Columbia,  unlike  the  tribes  previously  named, 
boiled  their  food  in  wooden  vessels,  or  in  ground  cavities  lined  with  skins, 
by  means  of  heated  stones.  They  were  ignorant  of  pottery.  “ On  enter- 
ing one  of  their  houses  he  [Captain  Clarke]  found  it  crowded  with  men, 
women,  and  children,  who  immediately  provided  a mat  for  him  to  sit  on, 
and  one  of  the  party  undertook  to  prepare  something  to  eat.  He  began  by 
bringing  in  a piece  of  pine  wood  that  had  drifted  down  the  river,  which  he 
split  into  small  pieces  with  a wedge  made  of  the  elk’s  horn  by  means  of  a 
mallet  of  stone  curiously  carved.  The  pieces  were  then  laid  on  the  tire, 
and  several  round  stones  placed  upon  them.  One  of  the  squaws  now 
brought  a bucket  of  water,  in  which  was  a large  salmon  about  half  dried, 
and  as  the  stones  became  heated  they  were  put  into  the  bucket  till  the  sal- 
mon was  sufficiently  boiled  for  use  It  was  then  taken  out,  put  on  a plat- 
ter of  rushes  neatly  made,  and  laid  before  Captain  Clarke,  and  another  was 
boiled  for  each  of  his  men.”3 

One  or  two  additional  cases,  of  which  a large  number  are  mentioned 
by  these  authors,  will  sufficiently  illustrate  the  practice  of  hospitality  of 


■Travels,  etc.,  p.  330. 


2 Travels,  etc.,  p.  334. 


3 Travels,  etc.,  353. 


MORGAN.] 


MARQUETTE’S  ACCOUNT, 


53 


these  tribes  and  its  universality.  They  went  to  a village  of  seven  houses 
of  the  Chilluckittequaw  tribe  and  to  the  house  of  the  chief.  “ He  received 
us  kindly,”  they  remark,  “and  set  before  us  pounded  fish,  filberts,  nuts, 
the  berries  of  the  sacacommis,  and  white  bread  made  of  roots.  * * * 

The  village  is  a part  of  the  same  nation  with  the  village  we  passed  above, 
the  language  of  the  two  being  the  same,  and  their  houses  of  similar  form 
and  materials,  and  calculated  to  contain  about  thirty  souls.  The  inhabit- 
ants were  unusually  hospitable  and  good  humored.”1  While  among  the 
Shoshonees,  and  before  arriving  at  the  Columbia,  they  “reached  an  Indian 
lodge  of  brush  inhabited  bv  seven  families  of  the  Shoshonees.  They 
behaved  with  great  civility,  and  gave  the  whole  party  as  much  boiled  sal- 
mon as  they  could  eat.  and  added  a present  of  several  dried  salmon  and  a 
considerable  quantity  of  chokechinies  ;”2  and  Captain  Lewis  remarks  of 
the  same  people,  that  “ an  Indian  invited  him  into  his  bower,  and  gave  him 
a small  morsel  of  boiled  antelope,  and  a piece  of  fresh  salmon  roasted. 
This  was  the  first  salmon  he  had  seen,  and  perfectly  satisfied  him  that  he 
was  now  on  the  waters  of  the  Pacific.”3  Thus  far  among  the  tribes  we 
find  a literal  repetition  of  the  rule  of  hospitality  as  practiced  by  the  Iro- 
quois. Mr.  Dali,  speaking  of  the  Aleuts,  says,  “ hospitality  was  one  of 
their  prominent  traits,”4  and  Powers,  of  the  Porno  Indians  of  California 
remarks,  that  they  would  always  divide  the  last  morsel  of  dried  salmon 
with  genuine  savage  thriftlessness,”  and  of  the  Mi-oak-a-wa-gun,  that, 
“like  all  California  Indians,  they  are  very  hospitable.”5 

Father  Marquette  and  Lieutenant  Joliet,  avIio  first  discovered  the  Upper 
Mississippi  in  1673,  had  friendly  intercourse  with  some  of  the  tribes  on  its 
eastern  bank,  and  were  hospitably  entertained  by  them.  “ The  council  being 
over,  we  were  invited  to  a feast,  which  consisted  of  four  dishes.  The  first 
was  a dish  of  sagamite — that  is,  some  Indian  meal  boiled  in  water  and 
seasoned  with  grease — the  master  of  ceremonies  holding  a spoonful  of  it, 
which  he  put  thrice  into  my  mouth  and  then  did  the  like  to  M.  Joliet.  The 

1 Travels,  etc.,  p.  375-376. 

2 lb.  p.  288. 

3 lb.  p.268. 

4 On  the  Remains  of  Later  Prehistoric  Man,  Alaska  Ter.,  Smithsonian  Cont.,  No.  318,  p.  3.  Travels, 

etc.,  Phila.  ed.,  1796,  p.  171. 

. 6 Powell’s  Contributions  to  North  American  Ethnology,  Power’s  Tribes  of  California,  vol.  iii,  p.  153. 


54  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


second  dish  consisted  of  three  fish,  whereof  lie  took  a piece,  and  having- 
taken  out  the  bones  and  blown  upon  it  to  cool  it,  he  put  it  into  my  mouth. 
The  third  dish  was  a large  dog,  which  they  had  killed  on  purpose,  but 
understanding  that  we  did  not  eat  this  animal  they  sent  it  away.  The  fourth 
was  a piece  of  buffalo  meat,  of  which  they  put  the  fattest  pieces  into  our 
mouths.”1 

Lower  down  the  river,  below  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  they  fell  in  with 
another  tribe,  of  whom  they  speak  as  follows  : “We  therefore  disembarked 
and  went  to  their  village.  They  entertained  us  with  buffalo  and  bear’s 
meat  and  white  plums,  which  were  excellent.  We  observed  they  had  guns, 
knives,  axes,  shovels,  glass  beads,  and  bottles  in  which  they  put  their 
powder.  They  wear  their  hair  long  as  the  Iroquois,  and  their  women  are 
dressed  as  the  Hurons.”2 

In  17G6  Jonathan  Carver  visited  the  Dakota  tribes  of  the  Mississippi, 
the  Sauks  and  Foxes,  and  Winnebagos  of  Wisconsin,  and  the  Ojibwas  of 
Upper  Michigan.  He  speaks  generally  of  the  hospitality  of  these  tribes 
as  follows:  “No  people  are  more  hospitable,  kind,  and  free  than  the 
Indians.  They  will  readily  share  with  any  of  their  own  tribe  the  last  part 
of  their  provisions,  and  even  with  those  of  a different  nation,  if  they  chance 
to  come  in  when  they  are  eating.  Though  they  do  not  keep  one  common 
stock,  yet  that  community  of  goods  which  is  so  prevalent  among  them,  and 
their  generous  disposition,  render  it  nearly  of  the  same  effect.”3  The 
“community  of  goods,  which  is  so  prevalent  among  them,”  is  explained  by 
their  large  households  formed  of  related  families,  who  shared  their  provis- 
ions in  common.  The  “seven  families  of  Shoshonees”  in  one  house,  and 
also  the  houses  “crowded  with  men,  women,  and  children,”  mentioned  by 
Lewis  and  Clarke,  are  fair  samples  of  Indian  households  in  the  early  period. 

W e turn  again  to  the  southern  tribes  of  the  United  States,  the  Cher- 
okes,  Choctas,  Chickasas,  and  Confederated  Creek  tribes.  James  Adair, 
whose  work  was  published  in  1775,  remarks  generally  upon  their  usages 
in  the  following  language : “They  are  so  hospitable,  kind-hearted,  and 

1 Historical  collections  of  Louisiana,  part  ii.  An  Account  of  the  Discovery  of  some  New  Countries 
and  Nations  of  North  America  m 1673,  by  Pere  Marquette  and  Sieur  Joliet,  p.  287. 

2Ib.,  p.  293.  3 Carver’s  Travels,  etc.,Pkila.  ed.  1796,  p.  171. 


MORGAN.] 


ADAIR’S  STATEMENT. 


p5 

free,  that  they  would  share  with  those  of  their  own  tribe  the  last  part  of 
their  own  provisions,  even  to  a sing-le  ear  of  corn ; and  to  others,  if  they 
called  when  they  were  eating’ ; for  they  have  no  stated  meal  time.  An 
open  generous  temper  is  a standing  virtue  among  them ; to  be  narrow- 
hearted,  especially  to  those  in  want,  or  to  any  of  their  own  family,  is 
accounted  a great  crime,  and  to  reflect  scandal  on  the  rest  of  the  tribe. 
Such  wretched  misers  they  brand  with  bad  characters.  * * * Tlie 

Cherokee  Indians  have  a pointed  proverbial  expression  to  the  same  effect — 
sinnawah  na  ivora,  the  great  hawk  is  at  home.  However,  it  is  a very  rare 
thing  to  find  any  of  them  of  a narrow  temper ; and  though  they  do  not 
keep  one  promiscuous  common  stock,  yet  it  is  to  the  very  same  effect ; for 
every  one  has  his  own  family  or  tribe ; and  when  one  of  them  is  speaking, 
either  of  the  individuals  or  habitations  of  any  of  his  tribe,  he  says,  ‘lie  is 
of  my  house,’  or  ‘it  is  my  house.’  * * * When  the  Indians  are  travel- 

ing in  their  own  country,  they  inquire  for  a house  of  their  own  tribe  [gens] ; 
and  if  there  be  any,  they  go  to  it,  and  are  kindly  received,  though  they 
never  saw  the  persons  before — they  eat,  drink,  and  regale  themselves  with 
as  much  freedom  as  at  their  own  table,  which  is  the  solid  ground  covered 
with  a bear-skin.  * * * Every  town  has  a state-house  or  synedrion,  as 

the  Jewish  sanhedrim,  where,  almost  every  night,  the  head  men  convene 
about  public  business;  or  the  town’s  people  to  feast,  sing,  dance,  and  rejoice 
in  the  divine  presence,  as  will  fully  be  described  hereafter.  And  if  a 
stranger  calls  there,  he  is  treated  with  the  greatest  civility  and  hearty  kind- 
ness— he  is  sure  to  find  plenty  of  their  simple  home  fare,  and  a large  cane- 
bed  covered  with  the  softened  skins  of  bears  or  buffaloes  to  sleep  on.  But, 
when  his  lineage  is  known  to  the  people  (by  a stated  custom,  they  are  slow 
in  greeting  one  another),  his  relations,  if  he  has  any  there,  address  him  in 
a familiar  way,  invite  him  home,  and  treat  him  as  a kinsman.”1  All  these 
tribes  were  organized  in  gentes  or  clans,  and  the  gentes  of  each  tribe  were 
usually  reintegrated  in  two  or  more  phratries.  It  is  the  gens  to  which  Mr. 
Adair  refers  when  he  speaks  of  the  “family,”  “relations,”  and  “lineage.” 
We  find  among  them  the  same  rule  of  hospitality,  substantially,  as  prevailed 
among  the  Iroquois. 


History  of  the  American  Indians,  London  ed.,  1775,  p.  17. 


56  nOIJSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


It  is  a reasonable  conclusion,  therefore,  that  among  all  the  tribes,  north 
of  New  Mexico,  the'  law  of  hospitality,  as  practiced  by  the  Iroquois,  was 
universally  recognized ; and  that  in  all  Indian  villages  and  encampments 
without  distinction  the  hungry  were  fed  through  the  open  hospitality  of 
those  who  possessed  a surplus.  Notwithstanding  this  generous  custom,  it 
is  well  known  that  the  Northern  Indians  were  often  fearfully  pressed  for  the 
means  of  subsistence  during  a portion  of  each  year.  A bad  season  for 
their  limited  productions,  and  the  absence  of  accumulated  stores,  not  unfre- 
quently  engendered  famine  over  large  districts.  From  the  severity  of  the 
struggle  for  subsistence,  it  is  not  surprising  that  immense  areas  were 
entirely  uninhabited,  that  other  large  areas  were  thinly  peopled,  and  that 
dense  population  nowhere  existed. 

Among  the  Village  Indians  of  New  Mexico  the  same  hospitality  is  now 
extended  to  Americans  visiting  their  pueblos,  and  which  presumptively  is 
simply  a reflection  of  their  usage  among  themselves  and  toward  other 
tribes.  In  1852  Dr.  Tenbroeck,  assistant  surgeon  United  States  Army, 
accompanied  his  command  to  the  Mold  pueblos.  In  his  journal  he  remarks: 
“Between  eleven  and  twelve  to-dav  we  arrived  at  the  first  towns  of  Mold. 

*j 

All  the  inhabitants  turned  out,  crowding  the  streets  and  house-tops  to  have 
a view  of  the  white  men.  All  the  old  men  pressed  forward  to  shake  hands 
with  us,  and  we  were  most  hospitably  received  and  conducted  to  the  gov- 
ernor’s house,  where  we  were  at  once  feasted  upon  guavas  and  a leg  of 
mutton  broiled  upon  the  coals.  After  the  feast  we  smoked  with  them,  and 
they  then  said  that  we  should  move  our  camp  in,  and  that  they  would  give 
us  a room  and  plenty  of  wood  for  the  men,  and  sell  us  corn  for  the  animals.”1 
In  1858  Lieut,  Joseph  C.  Ives  was  at  the  Mold  Pueblo  of  Mooshahneh  [Mi- 
shong-  i -ni-vi],  “ The  town  is  nearly  square,”  he  remarks,  “ and  surrounded 
by  a stone  wall  fifteen  feet  high,  the  top  of  which  forms  a landing  extending 
around  the  whole.  Flights  of  stone  steps  lead  from  the  first  to  a second 
landing,  upon  which  the  doors  of  the  houses  open.  Mounting  the  stairway 
opposite  to  the  ladder,  the  chief  crossed  to  the  nearest  door  and  ushered  us 
into  a low  apartment,  from  which  two  or  three  others  opened  towards  the 
interior  ot  the  dwelling.  Our  host  courteously  asked  us  to  be  seated  upon 


1 Schoolcraft’s  History,  Condition,  and  Prospects  of  tlie  Indian  Tribes,  iv,  81. 


MORGAN.] 


PIMA  VILLAGES  OX  THE  GILA  RIVER. 


57 


some  skins  spread  along  the  floor  against  the  wall,  and  presently  his  wife 
brought  in  a vase  of  water  and  a tray  tilled  with  a singular  substance  that 
looked  more  like  sheets  of  thin  blue  wrapping  paper  rolled  up  into  bundles 
than  anything  else  that  I have  ever  seen.  I learned  afterwards  that  it  was 
made  of  corn  meal,  ground  very  fine,  made  into  a gruel,  and  poured  over 
a heated  stone  to  be  baked.  When  dry  it  has  a surface  slightly  polished 
like  paper.  The  sheets  are  folded  and  rolled  together,  and  form  the  staple 
article  of  food  with  the  Mold  Indians.  As  the  dish  was  intended  for  our 
entertainment,  and  looked  clean,  we  all  partook  of  it.  It  had  a delicate 
fresh-bread  flavor,  and  was  not  at  all  unpalatable,  particularly  when  eaten 
with  salt.”1 

Lieutenant-Colonel  (now  General)  Emory  visited  the  Pima  villages 
on  the  Gila  River  in  1846.  “I  rode  leisurely  in  the  rear  through  the 
thatched  lmts  of  the  Pimos.  Each  abode  consisted  of  a dome-shaped  wicker- 
work about  six  feet  high,  and  from  twenty  to  fifty  feet  in  diameter,  thatched 
with  straw  or  cornstalks.  In  front  is  usually  a large  arbor,  on  top  of  which 
is  piled  the  cotton  in  the  pod  for  drying.  In  the  houses  were  stowed 
watermelons,  pumpkins,  beans,  corn,  and  wheat,  the  three  last  articles  gener- 
ally in  large  baskets.  Sometimes  the  corn  was  in  baskets,  covered  with  earth, 
and  placed  on  the  tops  of  the  domes.  A few  chickens  and  dogs  were  seen, 
but  no  other  domestic  animals,  except  horses,  mules,  and  oxen.  * * * 

Several  acquaintances,  formed  in  our  camp  yesterday,  were  recognized,  and 
they  received  me  cordially,  made  signs  to  dismount,  and  when  I did  so 
offered  watermelons  and  pinole.  Pinole  is  the  heart  of  Indian  corn,  baked, 
ground  up,  and  mixed  with  sugar.  When  dissolved  in  water  it  affords  a 
delicious  beverage;  it  quenches  thirst,  and  is  very  nutritious.  * * * 

The  population  of  the  Pimos  and  Maricopas  together  is  estimated  variously 
at  from  three  to  ten  thousand.  The  first  is  evidently  too  low.  This  peace- 
ful and  industrious  race  are  in  possession  of  a beautiful  and  fertile  basin. 
Living  remote  from  the  civilized  world,  they  are  seldom  visited  by  whites, 
and  then  only  by  those  in  distress,  to  whom  they  generously  furnish  horses 
and  food.”2  In  this  case  and  in  those  stated  by  Lieutenant  Ives  and  Dr. 


1 Report  upon  Colorado  River  of  the  West,  Lieut.  Ives,  p.  121. 

2 Military  Reconnaissance  in  New  Mexico,  pp.  85,  86. 


f;8  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


Tenbroeck  we  find  a repetition  of  the  Iroquois  rule  to  set  food  before  the 
guest  when  he  first  enters  the  house. 

With  respect  to  the  Village  Indians  of  Mexico,  Central  and  South 
America,  our  information  is,  in  the  main,  limited  to  the  hospitality  extended 
to  the  Spaniards  ; but  it  is  sufficient  to  show  that  it  was  a part  of  their  plan 
of  life,  and,  as  it  must  be  supposed,  a repetition  of  their  usages  in  respect 
to  each  other.  In  every  part  of  America  that  they  visited,  the  Spaniards, 
although  often  in  numbers  as  a military  force,  were  assigned  quarters  in 
Indian  houses,  emptied  of  their  inhabitants  for  that  purpose,  and  freely 
supplied  with  provisions.  Thus  at  Zempoala  “ the  lord  came  out,  attended 
by  ancient  men,  two  persons  of  note  supporting  him  by  the  arms,  because 
it  was  the  custom  among  them  to  come  out  in  that  manner  when  one  great 
man  received  another.  This  meeting  was  with  much  courtesy  and  abund- 
ance of  compliments,  and  people  were  already  appointed  to  find  the  Span- 
iards quarters  and  furnish  provisions.”1  When  near  Tlascala  the  Tlascal- 
lans  “sent  three  hundred  turkeys,  two  hundred  baskets  of  cakes  of  teutli, 
which  they  call  tamales,  being  about  two  hundred  arrobas ; that  is,  fifty 
hundred  weight  of  bread,  which  was  an  extraordinary  supply  for  the  Span- 
iards, considering  the  distress  they  were  in;”2  and  when  at  Tlascala,  Cortes 
and  his  men  “ were  generously  treated,  and  supplied  with  all  necessaries.”3 
They  “entered  Cholula  and  went  to  a house  where  they  lodged  altogether, 
and  their  Indians  with  them,  although  upon  their  guard,  being  for  the  present 
plentifully  supplied  with  provisions.”4  Although  the  Spaniards  numbered 
about  four  hundred,  and  their  allied  Indians  about  a thousand,  they  found 
accommodations  in  a single  joint  tenement  house  of  the  aboriginal  American 
model.  Attention  is  called  to  this  fact,  because  we  shall  find  the  Village 
Indians,  as  a rule,  living  in  large  houses,  each  containing  many  apartments, 
and  accommodating  five  hundred  or  more  persons.  The  household  of  sev- 
eral families  of  the  northern  Indians  reappears  in  the  southern  tribes  in  a 
much  greater  household  of  a hundred  or  more  families  in  a single  joint  tene- 
ment house,  but  not  unlikely  broken  up  into  several  household  groups.  The 
pueblo  consisted  sometimes  of  one,  sometimes  of  two  or  three,  and  some- 
times of  a greater  number  of  such  houses.  The  plan  of  life  within  these 

2Ib.,  ii,  261.  3Ib.,  ii,  279.  4Ib.,  ii,  311. 


1 Herrera’s  History  of  America,  ii,  212. 


MORGAN.] 


MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN. 


59 


houses  is  not  well  understood  ; but  it  can  still  be  seen  in  New  Mexico, 
and  it  is  to  be  hoped  it  will  attract  investigation. 

Speaking  of  the  Maya  Indians  of  Yucatan,  Herrera  remarks  that 
“they  are  still  generous  and  free-hearted,  so  that  they  will  make  every- 
body eat  that  comes  into  their  houses,  which  is  everywhere  practiced  in 
travelling.”1  This  is  a fair  statement  of  the  Iroquois  law  of  hospitality 
found  among  the  Mayas,  practiced  among  themselves  and  towards  strangers 
from  other  tribes.  When  Grijalva,  about  1517,  discovered  the  Tabasco 
River,  he  held  friendly  intercourse  with  some  of  the  tribes  of  Yucatan. 
“They  immediately  sent  thirty  Indians  loaded  with  roasted  fish,  hens,  sev- 
ral  sorts  of  fruit,  and  bread  made  of  Indian  wheat.2  When  Cortes,  in  1525, 
made  his  celebrated  expedition  to  Honduras,  he  passed  near  the  pueblo  of 
Palenque  and  near  that  of  Copan  without  being  aware  of  either,  and  visited 
the  shore  of  Lake  Peten.  “Being  well  received  in  the  city  of  Apoxpalan, 
Cortes  and  all  the  Spaniards,  with  their  horses,  were  quartered  in  one  house, 
the  Mexicans  being  dispersed  into  others,  and  all  of  them  plentifully  supplied 
with  provisions  during  their  stay.”3  They  numbered  one  hundred  and 
fifty  Spanish  horse  and  several  hundred  Aztecs  It  was  at  this  place, 
according  to  Herrera,4  that  Quatemozin,  who  accompanied  Cortes  as  a 
prisoner,  was  barbarously  executed  by  his  command.  Cortes  next  visited 
an  island  in  Lake  Peten,  where  he  was  sumptuously  entertained  by  Canec , 
the  chief  of  the  tribe,  where  they  “sat  down  to  dinner  in  stately  manner, 
and  Canec  ordered  fowls,  fish,  cakes,  honey,  and  fruit.”5 

In  South  America  the  same  account  of  the  hospitality  of  the  Indian 
tribes  is  given  by  the  early  explorers.  About  the  year  1500  Christopher 
Guerra  made  a voyage  to  the  coast  of  Venezuela:  “They  came  to  an 
anchor  before  a town  called  Curiana,  where  the  Indians  entreated  them  to 
go  ashore,  but  the  Spaniards  being  no  more  than  thirty-three  in  all  durst 
not  venture.  * * * At  length,  being  convinced  of  their  sincerity,  the 

Spaniards  went  ashore,  and  being  courteously  entertained,  staid  there  twenty 
days.  They  plentifully  supplied  them  for  food  with  venison,  rabbits,  geese, 
ducks,  parrots,  fish,  bread  made  of  maize  or  Indian  wheat,  and  other  things, 


‘Herrera’s  History  of  America,  iv,  171. 
2Ib.,  ii,  126. 

3 lb.,  iii,  359. 


4 lb.,  iii,  361. 
5Ib.,  iii,  362. 


60  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


and  brought  them  all  the  game  they  would  ask  for.  * * * They  per- 

ceived that  they  kept  markets  or  fairs,  and  that  they  made  use  of  jars, 
pitchers,  pots,  dishes,  and  porringers,  besides  other  vessels  of  several 
shapes.”!  Pizarro  found  the  same  custom  among  the  Peruvians  and  other 
tribes  of  the  coast.  At  the  time  of  his  first  visit  to  the  coast  of  Peru  he 
found  a female  chief  by  whom  he  was  entertained.  “The  lady  came  out 
to  meet  them  with  a great  retinue,  in  good  order,  holding  green  boughs  and 
ears  of  Indian  wheat,  having  made  an  arbor  where  were  seats  for  the 
Spaniards,  and  for  the  Indians  at  some  distance.  They  gave  them  to  eat 
fish  and  flesh  dressed  in  several  ways,  much  fruit,  and  such  bread  and 
liquor  as  the  country  afforded.”2  When  on  the  coast  of  Tumbez,  and 
before  landing,  “ten  or  twelve  floats  were  immediately  sent  out  with  a 
plenty  of  provisions,  fruits,  pots  of  water,  and  of  chica,  which  is  their  liquor, 
as  also  a lamb.”3  After  entering  Peru,  on  his  second  visit  to  the  coast, 
“ Atahuallpa’s  messengers  came  and  presented  the  governor  with  ten  of 
their  sheep  from  the  Inca,  and  some  other  things  of  small  value,  telling  him 
very  courteously  that  Atahuallpa  had  commanded  them  to  inquire  what  day 
he  intended  to  be  at  Caxamalca,  that  he  might  have  provisions  on  the*way.”4 
* * * *qqie  next  day  more  messengers  came  from  Atahuallpa  with  provis- 
ions, which  he  received  with  thanks.”5  The  native  historian,  Gfarcilasso  de  la 
Yiga,  remarks:  “Nor  were  the  Incas,  among  their  other  charities,  forgetful 
of  the  conveniences  for  travellers,  but  in  all  the  great  roads  built  houses  or 
inns  for  them,  which  they  called  corpahuaci , where  they  were  provided 
with  victuals  and  other  necessaries  for  their  journies  out  of  the  royal 
stores  ; and  in  case  any  traveller  fell  sick  on  the  way,  he  was  there  attended 
and  care  taken  of  him  in  a better  manner  perhaps  than  at  his  own  home.”6 

These  illustrations,  which  might  be  multiplied,  are  sufficient  to  show 
the  universality  of  the  practice  of  hospitality  among  the  Indian  tribes  of 
America  at  the  epoch  of  European  discovery.  Among  all  these  forms,  as 
stated  by  different  observers,  the  substance  of  the  Iroquois  law  of  hospi- 
tality is  plainly  found,  namely : If  a man  entered  an  Indian  house,  whether 
a villager,  a tribesman,  or  a stranger,  and  at  whatever  hour  of  the  day,  it 

1 Herrera’s  Hist.  America,  iv,  248.  2Ib.,  i,  229.  3Il>.,  iv,  3.  4Ib.,  iii,  399.  5Ib.,  iv,  244. 

6 Royal  Commentaries  of  Peru,  Lond.  eel.,  1(388;  Rycaut  Trans.,  p.  145. 


MORGAN.]  NUMBER  OF  PERSONS  IN  A HOUSE  IMPLIES  COMMUNISM-  61 


was  the  duty  of  the  women  of  the  house  to  set  food  before  him.  An  omis- 
sion to  do  this  would  have  been  a discourtesy  amounting-  to  an  affront.  If 
hungry,  he  ate,  if  not  hungry,  courtesy  required  that  he  should  taste  the 
food  and  thank  the  giver.  It  is  seen  to  have  been  a usage  running  through 
three  ethnic  conditions  of  the  Indian  race,  becoming  stronger  as  the 
means  of  subsistence  increased  in  variety  and  amount,  and  attaining  its 
highest  development  among  the  Village  Indians  in  the  Middle  Status  of 
barbarism.  It  was  an  active,  well-established  custom  of  Indian  society, 
practiced  among  themselves  and  among  strangers  from  other  tribes,  and 
very  naturally  extended  to  Europeans  when  they  made  their  first  appear- 
ance among  them  Considering  the  number  of  the  Spaniards  often  in  mili- 
tary companies,  and  another  fact  which  the  aborigines  were  quick  to  notice, 
namely,  that  a white  man  consumed  and  wasted  five  times  as  much  as  an 
Indian  required,  their  hospitality  in  many  cases  must  have  been  grievously 
overtaxed.1 

Attention  has  been  called  to  this  law  of  hospitality,  and  to  its  univer- 
sality, for  two  reasons : firstly,  because  it  implies  the  existence  of  common 
stores,  which  supplied  the  means  for  its  practice ; and  secondly,  because, 
wherever  found,  it  implies  communistic  living  in  large  households.  It  must 
be  evident  that  this  hospitality  could  not  have  been  habitually  practiced 
by  the  Iroquois  and  other  northern  tribes,  and  much  less  by  the  Village 
Indians  of  Mexico,  Central  and  South  America,  with  such  uniformity,  if 
the  custom  in  each  case  had  depended  upon  the  voluntary  contributions  of 
single  families.  In  that  event  it  would  have  failed  oftener  than  it  would 
have  succeeded.  The  law  of  hospitality,  as  administered  by  the  American 
aborigines,  indicates  a plan  of  life  among  them  which  has  not  been  care- 
fully studied,  nor  have  its  effects  been  fully  appreciated.  Its  explanation 
must  be  sought  in  the  ownership  of  lands  in  common,  the  distribution  of 
their  products  to  households  consisting  of  a number  of  families,  and  the 
practice  of  communism  in  living  in  the  household.  Common  stores  for 
large  households,  and  possibly  for  the  village,  with  which  to  maintain  vil- 

1 “ Tlie  appetite  of  the  Spaniards  appeared  to  the  Americans  insatiably  voracious;  and  they 
affirmed  that  one  Spaniard  devoured  more  food  in  a day  than  was  sufficient  for  ten  Americans.” — 
(Robertson’s  History  of  America,  Loud,  ed.,  1856,  i,  p.  72.) 


62  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OE  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


lage  hospitality,  are  necessary  to  explain  the  custom.  It  coulcl  have  been 
maintained  on  such  a basis,  and  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  it  could  have  been 
maintained  on  any  other.  The  common  and  substantially  universal  prac- 
tice of  this  custom,  among  the  American  Indian  Tribes,  at  the  period  of 
their  discovery,  among  whom  the  procurement  of  subsistence  was  their 
vital  need,  must  be  regarded  as  evidence  of  a generous  disposition,  and  as 
exhibiting  a trait  of  character  highly  creditable  to  the  race. 


CHAPTER  III. 

COMMUNISM  IN  LIVING. 

We  are  now  to  consider  the  remaining  usages  and  customs  named  in 
the  last  chapter. 


THEIR  COMMUNISM  IN  LIVING. 

Communism  in  living  had  its  origin  in  the  necessities  of  the  family, 
which,  prior  to  the  Later  Period  of  barbarism,  was  too  weak  an  organization 
to  face  alone  the  struggle  of  life.  In  savagery  and  in  the  Older  and  the 
Middle  Period  of  barbarism  the  family  was  in  the  syndyasmian  or  pairing 
form,  into  which  it  had  passed  from  a previous  lower  form.1  Wherever  the 
gentile  organization  prevailed,  several  families,  related  by  kin,  united  as  a 
rule  in  a common  household  and  made  a common  stock  of  the  provisions 
acquired  by  fishing  and  hunting,  and  by  the  cultivation  of  maize  and  plants. 
They  erected  joint  tenement  houses  large  enough  to  accommodate  several 
families,  so  that,  instead  of  a single  family  in  the  exclusive  occupation  of  a 
single  the  house,  large  households  as  a rule  existed  in  all  parts  of  America  in 
the  aboriginal  period.  This  community  of  provisions  was  limited  to  the 
household;  but  a final  equalization  of  the  means  of  subsistence  was  in  some 
measure  affected  by  the  law  of  hospitality.  To  a very  great  extent  com- 
munism in  living  was  a necessary  result  of  the  condition  of  the  Indian 
tribes.  It  entered  into  their  plan  of  life  and  determined  the  character  of 
their  houses.  In  effect  it  was  a union  of  effort  to  procure  subsistence,  which 
was  the  vital  and  commanding  concern  of  life.  The  desire  for  individual 
accumulation  had  not  been  aroused  in  their  minds  to  any  sensible  extent. 
It  is  made  evident  by  a comparison  of  the  conditions  of  barbarous  tribes  on 

’ Ancient.  Society,  p.  459. 


64  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


different  continents  that  communism  has  widely  prevailed  among  them,  and 
that  the  influence  of  this  ancient  practice  had  not  entirely  disappeared 
among  the  more  advanced  tribes  when  civilization  finally  appeared.  The 
common  meal-bin  of  the  ancient  and  the  common  tables  of  the  later  Greeks 
seem  to  be  survivals  of  an  older  communism  in  living.  This  practice,  though 
never  investigated  as  a specialty,  may  be  shown  by  the  known  customs  of 
a number  of  Indian  tribes,  and  may  be  confirmed  by  an  examination  of  the 
plans  of  their  houses. 

Our  first  illustration  will  be  taken  from  the  usages  of  the  Iroquois. 
In  their  villages  they  constructed  houses,  consisting  of  frames  of  poles  cov- 
ered with  bark,  thirty,  fifty,  eighty,  and  a hundred  feet  in  length,  with  a 
passage-way  through  the  center,  a door  at  each  end,  and  with  the  interior 
partitioned  off  at  intervals  of  about  seven  feet.  Each  apartment  or  stall 
thus  formed  was  open  for  its  entire  width  upon  the  passage-way.  These 
houses  would  accommodate  five,  ten,  and  twenty  families,  according  to  the 
number  of  apartments,  one  being  usually  allotted  to  a family.  Each  house- 
hold was  made  up  on  the  principle  of  kin.  The  married  women,  usually 
sisters,  own  or  collateral,  were  of  the  same  gens  or  clan,  the  symbol  or 
totem  of  which  was  often  painted  upon  the  house,  while  their  husbands  and 
the  wives  of  their  sons  belong  to  several  other  gentes.  The  children  were 
of  the  gens  of  their  mother.  While  husband  and  wife  belonged  to  different 
gentes,  the  preponderating  number  in  each  household  would  be  of  the  same 
gens,  namely,  that  of  their  mothers.  As  a rule  the  sons  brought  home  their 
wives,  and  in  some  cases  the  husbands  of  the  daughters  were  admitted  to  the 
maternal  house.  Thus  each  household  was  composed  of  a mixture  of  per- 
sons of  different  gentes;  but  this  would  not  prevent  the  numerical  ascend- 
ency of  the  particular  gens  to  whom  the  house  belonged.  In  a village  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  houses,  as  the  Seneca  village  of  Tiotohatton 
described  by  Mr.  Greenbalgh  in  1G77,1  there  would  be  several  such  houses 
belonging  to  each  gens.  It  presented  a general  picture  of  Indian  life  in  all 
parts  of  America  at  the  epoch  of  European  discovery.  Whatever  was 
gained  by  any  member  of  the  household  on  hunting  or  fishing  expeditions, 
or  was  raised  by  cultivation,  was  made  a common  stock.  Within  the  house 


Documentary  History  of  New  York,  i,  13. 


MORGAN".] 


FACT  OF  COMM  UNION  AMONG  IROQUOIS. 


65 


they  lived  from  common  stores.  Each  house  had  several  tires,  usually  one 
for  each  four  apartments,  which  was  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  passage- 
way and  without  a chimney.  Every  household  was  organized  under  a 
matron  who  supervised  its  domestic  economy.  After  the  single  daily  meal 
was  cooked  at  the  several  tires  the  matron  was  summoned,  and  it  was  her 
duty  to  divide  the  food,  from  the  kettle,  to  the  several  families  according  to 
their  respective  needs.  What  remained  was  placed  in  the  custody  of  another 
person  until  it  was  required  by  the  matron  The  Iroquois  lived  in  houses 
of  this  description  as  late  as  A.  D.  1700,  and  in  occasional  instances  a hun- 
dred years  later.  An  elderly  Seneca  woman1  informed  the  writer,  thirty 
years  ago,  that  when  she  was  a girl  she  lived  in  one  of  these  joint  tenement 
houses  (called  by  them  long-houses),  which  contained  eight  families  and 
two  fires,  and  that  her  mother  and  her  grandmother,  in  their  day,  had  acted 
as  matrons  over  one  of  these  large  households.  This  mere  glimpse  at  the 
ancient  Iroquois  plan  of  life,  now  entirely  passed  away,  and  of  which 
remembrance  is  nearly  lost,  is  highly  suggestive.  It  shows  that  their 
domestic  economy  was  not  without  method,  and  it  displays  the  care  and 
management  of  woman,  low  down  in  barbarism,  for  husbanding  their 
resources  and  for  improving  their  condition  A knowledge  of  these  houses, 
and  how  to  build  them,  is  not  even  yet  lost  among  the  Senecas.  Some 
years  ago  Mr  William  Parker,  a Seneca  chief,  constructed  for  the  writer 
a model  of  one  of  these  long-houses,  showing  in  detail  its  external  and 
internal  mechanism. 

The  late  Rev.  Ashur  W right,  D.  D , for  many  years  a missionary  among 
the  Senecas,  and  familiar  with  their  language  and  customs,  wrote  to  the 
author  in  1873  on  the  subject  of  these  households,  as  follows:  “As  to  their 
family  system,  when  occupying-  the  old  long-houses,  it  is  probable  that  some 
one  clan  predominated,  the  women  taking  in  husbands,  however,  from  the 
other  clans  ; and  sometimes,  for  a novelty,  some  of  their  sons  bringing  in 
their  young  wives  until  they  felt  brave  enough  to  leave  their  mothers. 
Usually,  the  female  portion  ruled  the  house,  and  were  doubtless  clannish 
enough  about  it.  The  stores  were  in  common ; but  woe  to  the  luckless 
husband  or  lover  who  was  too  shiftless  to  do  his  share  of  the  providing. 


5 


1 The  late  Mrs.  William  Parker,  of  Tonawanda. 


6G  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


No  matter  how  many  children,  or  whatever  goods  he  might  have  in  the 
house,  he  might  at  any  time  be  ordered  to  pick  up  his  blanket  and  budge ; 
and  after  such  orders  it  would  not  be  healthful  for  him  to  attempt  to  diso- 
bey ; the  house  would  be  too  hot  for  him ; and  unless  saved  by  the  inter- 
cession of  some  aunt  or  grandmother,  he  must  retreat  to  his  own  clan,  or 
as  was  often  done,  go  and  start  a new  matrimonial  alliance  in  some  other. 
The  women  were  the  great  power  among  the  clans,  as  everywhere  else 
They  did  not  hesitate,  when  occasion  required,  to  ‘knock  off  the  horns,’  as 
it  was  technically  called,  from  the  head  of  a chief  and  send  him  back  to 
the  ranks  of  the  warriors  The  original  nomination  of  the  chiefs  also  always 
rested  with  them.” 

The  mother-right  and  gyneocracy  among  the  Iroquois  here  plainly 
indicated  is  not  overdrawn.  The  mothers  and  their  children,  as  we  have 
seen,  were  of  the  same  gens,  and  to  them  the  house  belonged.  It  was 
a gentile  house.  In  case  of  the  death  of  father  or  mother,  the  apartments 
they  occupied  could  not  be  detached  from  the  kinship,  but  remained  to  its 
members.  The  position  of  the  mother  was  eminently  favorable  to  her  influ- 
ence in  the  household,  and  tended  to  strengthen  the  maternal  bond.  We 
may  see  in  this  an  ancient  phase  of  human  life  which  has  had  a wide  prev- 
alence in  the  tribes  of  mankind,  Asiatic,  European,  African,  American,  and 
Australian.  Not  until  after  civilization  had  begun  among  the  Greeks,  and 
gentile  society  was  superseded  by  political  society7,  was  the  influence  of 
this  old  order  of  society  overthrown.  It  left  behind,  at  least  among  the 
Grecian  tribes,  deep  traces  of  its  previous  existence.1 

Among  the  Iroquois,  those  who  formed  a household  and  cultivated 
gardens  gathered  the  harvest  and  stored  it  in  their  dwelling  as  a common 
stock  There  was  more  or  less  of  individual  ownership  of  these  products, 
and  of  their  possession  by  different  families.  For  example,  the  corn,  after 
stripping  back  the  husk,  was  braided  by  the  husk  in  bunches  and  hung  up 
in  the  different  apartments;  but  when  one  family  had  exhausted  its  supply, 
their  wants  were  supplied  by  other  families  so  long  as  any  remained.  Each 

1 These  statements  illustrate  the  gyneocracy  and  mother-right  among  the  ancient  Grecian  tribes 
discussed  by  Bachofen  in  “Das  Mutterrecht.”  The  phenomena  discovered  by  Bachofen  owes  its  origin, 
probably,  to  descent  in  the  female  line,  and  to  the  junction  of  several  families  in  one  house,  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  kin,  as  among  the  Iroquois. 


MORGAN. 


COMMUNISTIC  HOUSES  OF  VIRGINIA  INDIANS. 


67 


hunting  and  fishing  party  made  a common  stock  of  the  capture,  of  which 
the  surplus,  on  their  return,  was  divided  among  the  several  families  of  each 
household,  and,  having  been  cured,  was  reserved  for  winter  use.  The  village 
did  not  make  a common  stock  of  their  provisions,  and  thus  offer  a bounty 
to  imprudence.  It  was  confined  to  the  household.  But  the  principle  of 
hospitality  then  came  in  to  relieve  the  consequences  of  destitution.  We 
can  speak  with  some  confidence  of  the  ancient  usages  and  customs  of  the 
Iroquois  ; and  when  any  usage  is  found  among  them  in  a definite  and  pos- 
itive form,  it  renders  probable  the  existence  of  the  same  usage  in  other 
tribes  in  the  same  condition,  because  their  necessities  were  the  same. 

In  the  History  of  Virginia,  by  Capt,  John  Smith,  the  houses  of  the 
Powhatan  Indians  are  partially  described,  and  are  found  to  be  much  the 
same  as  those  of  the  Iroquois  We  have  already  (pi o ted  from  this  work 
the  description  of  a house  on  Roanoke  Island  containing  five  chambers. 
Speaking  of  the  houses  in  the  vicinity  of  James  River  in  1606-1  (i08,  he 
remarks,  “Their  houses  are  built  like  our  arbors,  of  small  young  sprigs  bowed 
and  tied,  and  so  close  covered  with  mats,  or  the  bark  of  trees,  very  hand- 
somely, that  notwithstanding  either  wind,  rain,  or  weather,  they  are  as 
warm  as  stoves  but  very  smoky ; yet  at  the  top  of  the  house  there  is  a 
hole  made  for  the  smoke  to  go  into  right  over  the  fire  Against  the  fire  they 
lie  on  little  hurdles  of  reeds  covered  with  a mat,  borne  from  the  ground  a 
foot  and  more  by  a hurdle  of  wood.  On  these,  round  about  the  house, 
they  lie,  heads  and  points,  one  by  the  other,  against  the  fire,  some  covered 
with  mats,  some  with  skins,  and  some  stark  naked  lie  on  the  ground,  from 
six  to  twenty  in  a house  * * * In  some  places  are  from  two  to  fifty 

of  these  houses  together,  or  but  little  separated  by  groves  of  trees.”1  The 
noticeable  fact  in  this  statement  is  the  number  of  persons  in  the  house, 
which  shows  a household  consisting  of  several  families.  Their  communism 
in  living  may  be  inferred.  Elsewhere  he  speaks  of  “houses  built  after  their 
manner,  some  thirty,  some  forty  yards  long;”2  and  speaking  of  one  of  the 
houses  of  Powhatan  he  says,  “This  house  is  fifty  or  sixty  yards  in  length;”3 
and  again,  at  Pamunky,  “A  great  fire  was  made  in  a long-house,  a mat  was 
spread  on  one  side  as  on  the  other ; and  on  one  side  they  caused  him  to 

®Ib.,  i,  143.  :,Ib.,  i,  142. 


1 Smitli’s  History  of  Virginia,  Richmond  ed.,  1819,  i,  130. 


68  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


sit.”1  We  here  find  among  the  Virginia  Indians  at  the  epoch  of  their  dis- 
covery long-houses  very  similar  to  the  long-houses  of  the  Iroquois,  with 
the  same  evidence  of  a large  household.  It  may  safely  be  taken  as  a rule 
that  every  Indian  household  in  the  aboriginal  period,  whether  large  or  small, 
lived  from  common  stores. 

Mr.  Caleb  Swan,  who  visited  the  Creek  Indians  of  Georgia  in  1790, 
found  the  people  living  in  small  houses  or  cabins,  but  in  clusters,  each 
cluster  being  occupied  by  a part  of  a gens  or  clan.  He  remarks  that  “the 
smallest  of  their  towns  have  from  ten  to  forty  houses,  and  some  of  the 
largest  from  fifty  to  two  hundred,  that  are  tolerably  compact.  These  houses 
stand  in  clusters  of  four,  five,  six,  seven,  and  eight  together.  * * * 

Each  cluster  of  houses  contains  a clan  or  family  of  relations  ivlio  eat  and 
live  in  common.”2  Here  the  fact  of  several  families  uniting  on  the  princi- 
ple of  kin,  living  in  a cluster  of  houses,  and  practicing  communism,  is 
expressly  stated. 

James  Adair,  writing  still  earlier  of  the  southern  Indians  of  the  United 
States  generally,  remarks  in  a passage  before  quoted,  as  follows:  “I  have 
observed,  with  much  inward  satisfaction,  the  community  of  goods  that  pre- 
vailed among  them.  * * * And  though  they  do  not  keep  one  promiscu- 

ous common  stock,  yet  it  is  to  the  very  same  effect,  for  every  one  has  his 
own  family  or  tribe,  and  when  any  one  is  speaking  either  of  the  individuals 
or  habitations  of  his  own  tribe,  he  says,  ‘He  is  of  my  house,’  or,  ‘It  is  my 
house.’”3  It  is  singular  that  this  industrious  investigator  did  not  notice, 
what  is  now  known  to  be  the  fact,  that  all  these  tribes  were  organized  in 
gentes  and  phratries.  It  would  have  rendered  his  observations  upon  their 
usages  and  customs  more  definite.  Elsewhere  he  remarks  further  that  “for- 
merly the  Indian  law  obliged  every  town  to  work  together  in  one  body,  in 
sowing  or  planting  their  crops,  though  their  fields  were  divided  by  proper 
marks,  and  their  harvest  is  gathered  separately.  The  Clierokees  and  Mus- 
cogees  [Creeks]  still  observe  that  old  custom,  which  is  very  necessary  for 
such  idle  people.”4  They  cultivated,  like  the  Iroquois,  three  kinds  of  maize, 

1 Smith’s  Hist.  Va.,  Richmond  ed.,  Ibl9,  i,  160. 

2 Schoolcraft’s  Hist.  Cond.  and  Pros,  of  Indian  Tribes,  vol.  v.  262. 

3 History  of  the  American  Indians,  p.  17. 

«Ib.,  p.  430. 


MORGAN.] 


TRIBES  OF  THE  PLAINS. 


69 

an  “early  variety,”  the  “hominy  corn,”  and  the  “bread  corn,”1  also  beans, 
squashes,  pumpkins,  and  tobacco.  Chestnuts,  a tuberous  root  something- 
like the  potato  but  gathered  in  the  marshes,  berries,  fish,  and  game,  entered 
into  their  subsistence.  Like  the  Iroquois,  they  made  unleavened  bread  of 
maize  flour,  which  was  boiled  in  earthen  vessels,2  in  the  form  of  cakes,  about 
six  inches  in  diameter  and  an  inch  thick. 

Among  the  tribes  of  the  plains,  who  siibsist.  almost  exclusively  upon 
animal  food,  their  usages  in  the  hunt  indicate  the  same  tendency  to  com- 
munism in  food.  The  Blackfeet,  during  the  buffalo  hunt,  follow  the  herds 
on  horseback  in  large  parties,  composed  of  men,  women,  and  children. 
When  the  active  pursuit  of  the  herd  commences,  the  hunters  leave  the  dead 
animals  in  the  track  of  the  chase  to  be  appropriated  by  the  first  persons  who 
come  up  behind.  This  method  of  distribution  is  continued  until  all  are 
supplied.  All  the  Indian  tribes  who  hunt  upon  the  plains,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  half-blood  Crees,  observe  the  same  custom  of  making  a com- 
mon stock  of  the  capture.  It  tended  to  equalize,  at  the  outset,  the  means 
of  subsistence  obtained.  They  cut  the  beef  into  strings,  and  either  dried  it 
in  the  air  or  in  the  smoke  of  a fire.  Some  of  the  tribes  made  a part  of  the 
capture  into  pemmican,  which  consists  of  dried  and  pulverized  meat  mixed 
with  melted  buffalo  fat,  which  is  baled  in  the  hide  of  the  animal. 

During-  the  fishing  season  in  the  Columbia  River,  where  fish  are  more 
abundant  than  in  any  other  river  on  the  earth,  all  the  members  of  the  tribe 
encamp  together,  and  make  a common  stock  of  the  fish  obtained.  They 
are  divided  each  day  according  to  the  number  of  women,  giving  to  each  an 
equal  share.  At  the  Kootenay  Falls,  for  example,  they  are  taken  by  spear- 
ing, and  in  huge  baskets  submerged  in  the  water  below  the  falls.  The 
salmon,  during  the  spring  run,  weigh  from  six  to  forty  pounds,  and  are 
taken  in  the  greatest  abundance,  three  thousand  a day  not  being  an  unusual 
number.  Father  De  Srnet,  the  late  Oregon  missionary,  informed  the  writer, 
in  1862,  that  he  once  spent  several  days  with  the  Kootenays  at  these  falls, 
and  that  the  share  which  fell  to  him,  as  one  of  the  party,  loaded,  when 
dried,  thirty  pack  mules.  The  fish  are  split  opeji,  scarified,  and  dried  on 


History  of  the  American  Indiaris,  p.  430. 


2Ib.,  pp.  406,  40S. 


70  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMEIUCAN  ABORIGINES. 


scaffolds,  after  which  they  are  packed  in  baskets  and  then  removed  to  their 
villages.  This  custom  makes  a general  distribution  of  the  capture,  and 
leaves  each  household  in  possession  of  its  share.1 

Their  communism  in  living  is  involved  in  the  size  of  the  household, 
which  ranged  from  ten  to  forty  persons.  “ The  houses  of  the  Sokulks  are 
made  of  large  mats  of  rushes,  and  are  generally  of  a square  or  oblong  form, 
varying  in  length  from  fifteen  to  sixty  feet ; the  top  is  covered  with  mats, 
leaving  a space  of  twelve  or  fifteen  inches,  the  whole  length  of  the  house, 
for  the  purpose  of  admitting  the  light  and  suffering  the  smoke  to  pass 
through ; the  roof  is  nearly  flat,  * * * and  the  house  is  not  divided 

into  apartments,  the  fire  being  in  the  middle  of  the  large  room,  and  imme- 
diately under  the  hole  in  the  roof.  * * * On  entering  one  of  these 

houses  he  [Captain  Clarke]  found  it  crowded  with  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, who  immediately  provided  a mat  for  him  to  sit  on,  and  one  of  the 
party  immediately  undertook  to  prepare  something  to  eat.”2  Again:  “He 
landed  before  five  houses  close  to  each  other,  but  no  one  appeared,  and 
the  doors,  which  were  of  mats,  were  closed.  He  went  towards  one  of  them 
with  a pipe  in  his  hand,  and  pushing  aside  the  mat  entered  the  lodge,  where 
he  found  thirty-two  persons,  chiefly  men  and  women,  with  a few  children, 
all  in  the  greatest  consternation.”3  And  again : “ This  village  being  part 
of  the  same  nation  with  the  village  we  passed  above,  the  language  of  the 
two  being  the  same,  and  their  houses  being  of  the  same  form  and  materials, 
and  calculated  to  contain  about  thirty  souls.”4  In  enumerating  the  people 

‘Alfred  W.  Howitt,  F.  G.  S.,  of  Bariusdale,  Australia,  mentions,  in  a letter  to  the  author,  the  fol- 
lowing singular  custom  of  an  Australian  tribe  concerning  the  distribution  of  food  in  the  family  group: 

“A  man  catches  seven  river  eels;  they  are  divided  thus  (it  is  supposed  that  his  family  consists 
only  of  these  named)  : 

“1st  eel.  Front  half  himself;  hind  half  his  wife. 

““d  eel.  Front  half  his  wife’s  mother;  hind  half  his  wife’s  sister. 

“ 3d  eel.  Front  half  his  elder  sons;  hind  half  his  younger  sous. 

“4th  eel.  Front  half  his  elder  daughters;  hind  half  his  younger  daughters. 

“5th  eel.  Front  half  his  brother’s  sons;  hind  half  his  brother’s  daughters. 

“6th  eel.  One  whole  eel  to  his  married  daughter’s  husband. 

“7tli  eel.  One  whole  eel  to  his  married  daughter.” 

This  custom  may  be  supposed  to  show  the  ordinary  household  group,  and  the  order  of  their  relative 
nearness  to  Ego.  It  foots  up  himself  and  wife,  wife’s  mother  and  sister,  his  sons  and  daughters,  his 
brother’s  sons  and  daughter’s,  and  his  daughter’s  husband.  It  implies  also  other  members  of  the  house- 
hold, who  are  obliged  to  take  care  of  themselves ; viz,  his  brothers  and  sisters. 

2 Lewis  and  Clarke’s  Travels,  pp.  351-353.  3 lb.,  p.  357. 


■'  lb.,  p.  376. 


MORGAN.] 


INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  COLUMBIA. 


71 


Lewis  and  Clarke  often  state  the  number  of  inhabitants  with  the  number  of 
houses,  thus : 

“ The  Killamucks,  who  number  fifty  houses  and  a thousand  souls.”1 

“ The  Chilts,  who  * * * are  estimated  at  seven  hundred  souls  and 

thirty-eight  houses.” 

“ The  Clamoitomish,  of  twelve  houses  and  two  hundred  and  sixty 
souls.” 

“ The  Potoashees,  of  ten  houses  and  two  hundred  souls.” 

“ The  Pailsk,  of  ten  houses  and  two  hundred  souls.” 

“The  Quinults,  of  sixty  houses  and  one  thousand  souls.”1 

Speaking  generally  of  the  usages  and  customs  of  the  tribes  of  the  “Co- 
lumbia plains,”  they  make  the  following  statements  : “Their  large  houses 
usually  contain  several  families,  consisting  of  the  parents,  their  sons  and 
daughters-in-law  and  grandchildren,  among  whom  the  provisions  are  com- 
mon, and  whose  harmony  is  scarcely  ever  interrupted  by  disputes.  Although 
polygamy  is  permitted  by  their  customs,  very  few  have  more  than  a single 
wife,  and  she  is  brought  immediately  after  the  marriage  into  the  husband’s 
family,  where  she  resides  until  increasing  numbers  oblige  them  to  seek 
another  house  In  this  state  the  old  man  is  not  considered  the  head  of  the 
family,  since  the  active  duties,  as  well  as  the  responsibility,  fall  on  some  of 
the  younger  members.  As  these  families  gradually  expand  into  bands,  or 
tribes,  or  nations,  the  paternal  authority  is  represented  by  the  chief  of  each 
association.  This  chieftain,  however,  is  not  hereditary.” 2 Here  we  find 
among  the  Columbian  tribes,  as  elsewhere,  communism  in  living,  but 
restricted  to  large  households  composed  of  several  families. 

A writer  in  Harper’s  Magazine,  speaking  of  the  Aleutians,  remarks : 
“When  first  discovered  this  people  were  living  in  large  yourts,  or  dirt  houses, 
partially  underground,  * * * having  the  entrances  through  a hole  in 

the  top  or  centre,  going  in  and  out  on  a rude  ladder.  Several  of  these 
ancient  yourts  were  very  large,  as  shown  by  the  ruins,  being  from  thirty 
to  eighty  yards  long  and  twenty  to  forty  in  width.  * * * In  these 

large  yourts  the  primitive  Aleuts  lived  by  fifties  and  hundreds  for  the  double 
object  of  protection  and  warmth.”3 

‘Lewis  and  Clarke’s  Travels,  pp.  426-428.  2 lb.,  p.  446. 

3 Harper’s  Magazine,  vol.  55,  p.  806. 


72  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AM  EE  10  AN  ABOEICxINES. 


Whether  these  tribes  at  this  time  were  organized  in  gentes  and  phra- 
tries  is  not  known.  At  the  time  of  the  Wilkes  expedition  (1838—1842)  the 
gentile  organization  did  not  exist  among  them  ; neither  does  it  now  exist; 
but  it  is  still  found  among-  the  tribes  of  the  Northwest  Coast,  and  among 
the  Indian  tribes  generally.  The  composition  of  the  household,  as  here 
described,  is  precisely  like  the  household  of  the  Iroquois  prior  to  A.  D.  1 700. 

The  Mandan  village  contained  at  the  time  of  Catlin’s  visit  (1832),  as 
elsewhere  stated,  about  fifty  houses  and  about  fifteen  hundred  people. 
“These  cabins  are  so  spacious,”  Catlin  remarks,  “that  they  hold  from 
twenty  to  forty  persons — a family  and  all  their  connections.  * * * 

From  the  great  numbers  of  the  inmates  in  these  lodges  they  are  necessarily 
very  spacious,  and  the  number  of  beds  considerable.  It  is  no  uncommon 
thing  to  see  these  lodges  fifty  feet  in  diameter  inside  (which  is  an  immense 
room),  with  a row  of  these  curtained  beds  extending  quite  around  their 
sides,  being  some  ten  or  twelve  of  them,  placed  four  or  five  feet  apart,  and 
the  space  between  them  occupied  by  a large  post,  fixed  quite  firmly  in  the 
ground,  and  six  or  seven  feet  high,  with  large  wooden  pegs  or  bolts  in  it,  on 
which  are  hung  or  grouped,  with  a wild  and  startling  taste,  the  arms  and  armor 
of  the  respective  proprietors.”1  The  household,  according  to  the  cutsom  of 
the  Indians,  was  a large  one.  The  number  of  inhabitants  divided  among 
the  number  of  houses  would  give  an  average  of  thirty  persons  to  each  house. 
It  is  evident  from  several  statements  of  Catlin  before  given  that  the  house- 
hold practiced  communism  in  living,  and  that  it  was  formed  of  related 
families,  on  the  principle  of  gentile  kin,  as  among  the  Iroquois.  Elsewhere 
he  intimates  that  the  Mandans  kept  a public  store  or  granary  as  a refuge 
for  the  whole  community  in  a time  of  scarcity.2 

In  like  manner  Carver,  speaking  generally  of  the  usages  and  customs 
of  the  Dakota  tribes  and  of  the  tribes  of  Wisconsin,  remarks  that  “they 
will  readily  share  with  any  . of  their  own  tribe  the  last  part  of  their  provis- 
ions, and  even  with  those  of  a different  nation,  if  they  chance  to  come  in 
when  they  are  eating.  Though  they  do  not  keep  one  common  store,  yet 
that  community  of  goods  which  is  so  prevalent  among  them,  and  their  gen- 

1 North  American  Indians,  Philadelphia  ed.,  1S57,  i,  139. 

2 lb.,  i,  210. 


MORGAN.] 


NUMBER  OF  PERSONS  IN  A HOUSEHOLD. 


erous  disposition,  render  it  nearly  of  the  same  effect.”3  What  this  author 
seems  to  state  is  that  community  of  goods  existed  in  the  household,  and  that 
it  was  lengthened  out  to  the  tribe  by  the  law  of  hospitality.  Elsewhere, 
speaking  of  the  large  village  of  the  Souks,  he  says  : “ This  is  the  largest 
Indian  town  I ever  saw.  It  contains  about  ninety  houses,  each  large 
enough  for  several  families.”1  In  a previous  chapter  ( supra  p.  49.)  Hecke- 
wekler’s  observations  upon  hospitality  among  the  Delawares  and  Munsees, 
implying  the  principle  of  communism,  have  been  given  He  remarks  fur- 
ther that  “ there  is  nothing  in  an  Indian’s  house  or  family  without  its  par- 
ticular owner.  Every  individual  knows  what  belongs  to  him,  from  the 
horse  or  cow  down  to  the  dog,  cat,  kitten,  and  little  chicken  * * * 
For  a litter  of  kittens  or  a brood  of  chickens  there  are  often  as  many  dif- 
ferent owners  as  there  are  individual  animals.  In  purchasing  a hen  with 
her  brood  one  frequently  has  to  deal  for  it  with  several  children.  Thus, 
while  the  principle  of  community  of  goods  prevails  in  the  State,  the  rights 
of  property  are  acknowledged  among  the  members  of  the  family.  This  is 
attended  with  a very  good  effect,  for  by  this  means  every  living  creature 
is  properly  taken  care  of”2  I do  not  understand  what  Heckewelder  means 
by  the  remark  that  “the  principle  of  community  of  goods  prevails  in  the 
state,”  unless  it  be  that  the  rule  of  hospitality  was  so  all-pervading  that  it 
was  tantamount  to  a community  of  goods,  while  individual  property  was 
everywhere  recognized  until  it  was  freely  surrendered.  This  may  be  the 
just  view  of  the  result  of  their  communism  and  hospitality,  but  it  is  a higher 
one  than  I have  been  able  to  take. 

The  household  of  the  Mandans  consisting  of  from  twenty  to  forty 
persons,  the  households  of  the  Columbian  tribes  of  about  the  same  num- 
ber, the  Shoshonee  household  of  seven  families,  the  households  of  the 
Sauks,  of  the  Iroquois,  and  of  the  Creeks  each  composed  of  several  fami- 
lies, are  fair  types  of  the  households  of  the  Northern  Indians  at  the  epoch 
of  their  discovery.  The  fact  is  also  established  that  these  tribes  constructed 
as  a rule  large  joint  tenement  houses,  each  of  which  was  occupied  by  a 
large  household  composed  of  several  families,  among  whom  provisions  were 
in  common,  and  who  practiced  communism  in  living  in  the  household. 


3 Travels,  etc.,  p.  171. 


1 Travels,  etc.,  Phila.  ed.  1796,  p.  29. 


2 Indian  Nations,  p.  158. 


74  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


Among  the  A'illage  Indians  of  New  Mexico  a more  advanced  form  of 
house  architecture  appears,  and  their  joint  tenement  character  is  even  more 
pronounced.  They  live  in  large  houses,  two,  three,  and  four  stories  high, 
constructed  of  adobe  brick,  and  of  stone  imbedded  in  adobe  mortar,  and 
containing  fifty,  a hundred,  two  hundred,  and  in  some  cases  five  hundred 
apartments  in  a house.  They  are  built  in  the  terraced  form,  with  fire- 
places and  chimneys  added  since  their  discovery,  the  first  story  closed  up 
solid,  and  is  entered  by  ladders,  which  ascend  to  the  platform-roof  of  the 
first  story.  These  houses  are  fortresses,  and  were  erected  as  strongholds  to 
resist  the  attacks  of  the  more  barbarous  tribes  by  whom  they  were  perpetu- 
ally assailed.  Each  house  was  probably  occupied  by  a number  of  house- 
hold groups,  whose  apartments  were  doubtless  separated  from  each  other 
by  partition  walls.  In  a subsequent  chapter  the  character  of  these  houses 
will  be  more  fully  shown. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  plan  of  life  in  these  houses  in  the  aboriginal 
period  is  still  very  imperfect  They  still  practice  the  old  hospitality, 
own  their  lands  in  common,  but  with  allotments  to  individuals  and  to  fami- 
lies, and  are  governed  by  a cacique  or  sachem  and  certain  other  offi- 
cers annually  elected.  An  American  missionary  to  the  Laguna  Village 
Indians,  Rev.  Samuel  Gorman,  in  an  address  before  the  Historical  Society 
of  New  Mexico  in  1869,  remarks  as  follows:  “They  generally  marry  very 
young,  and  the  son-in-law  becomes  the  servant  of  the  father-in-law,  and 
very  often  they  all  live  together  in  one  family  for  years,  even  if  there  be 
several  sons-in-law;  and  this  clannish  mode  of  living  is  often,  if  not  gen- 
erally, a fruitful  source  of  evil  among  this  people.  Their  women  generally 
have  control  over  the  granary,  and  they  are  more  provident  than  their  Span- 
ish neighbors  about  the  future.  Ordinarily  they  try  to  have  one  year’s 
provisions  on  hand.  It  is  only  when  they  have  two  years  of  scarcity  suc- 
ceeding each  other  that  pueblos  as  a community  suffer  hunger.”1  The 
usages  of  these  Indians  have  doubtless  modified  in  the  last  two  hundred 
years  under  Spanish  influence;  they  have  decreased  in  numbers,  and  the 
family  group  is  probably  smaller  than  formerly.  But  it  is  not  too  late 
to  recover  the  aboriginal  plan  of  life  among  them  if  the  subject  were 


‘Address,  p.  14. 


MORGAN.] 


TEIBES  OF  YUCATAN. 


75 


intelligently  investigated.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  some  one  will  undertake 
this  work. 

The  Spanish  writers  do  not  mention  the  practice  of  communism  in 
living  as  existing  among  the  Village  Indians  of  Mexico  or  Central  America. 
They  are  barren  of  practical  information  concerning  their  mode  of  life; 
but  we  have  the  same  picture  of  large  households  composed  of  several 
families,  whose  communism  in  the  household  may  reasonably  be  inferred. 

We  have  also  the  striking  illustration  of  “ Montezuma’s  Dinner,”  here- 
after to  be  noticed,  which  was  plainly  a dinner  in  common  by  a communal 
household.  Beside  these  facts  we  have  the  ownership  of  lands  in  common 
by  communities  of  persons.  • Moreover,  the  ruins  of  ancient  houses  in  Cen- 
tral and  South  America,  and  in  parts  of  Mexico,  show  very  plainly  their 
joint  tenement  character.  From  the  plans  of  these  houses  the  communism 
of  the  people  by  households  may  be  deduced  theoretically  with  reasonable 
certainty. 

Yucatan,  when  discovered,  was  occupied  by  a number  of  tribes  of 
Maya  Indians.  The  Maya  language  spread  beyond  the  limits  of  Yucatan. 
This  region,  with  Chiapas,  Guatemala,  and  a part  of  Honduras,  contained 
and  still  contains  evidence,  in  the  ruins  of  ancient  structures,  of  a higher 
advancement  in  the  arts  of  life  than  any  other  part  of  North  America  The 
present  Maya  Indians  of  Yucatan  are  the  descendants  of  the  people  who 
occupied  the  country  at  the  period  of  the  Spanish  conquest,  and  who  occu- 
pied the  massive  stone  houses  now  in  ruins,  from  which  they  were  forced 
by  Spanish  oppression. 

We  have  a notable  illustration  of  communism  in  living  among  the 
present  Maya  Indians,  as  late  as  the  year  1840,  through  the  work  of  John 
L.  Stephens.  At  Nohcacab,  a few  miles  east  of  the  ruins  of  Uxmal,  Mr 
Stephens,  having  occasion  to  employ  laborers,  went  to  a settlement  of  Maya 
Indians,  of  whom  he  gives  the  following  account:  “ Their  community  con- 
sists of  a hundred  labradores,  or  working  men;  their  lands  are  held  and 
wrought  in  common,  and  the  products  are  shared  by  all.  Their  food  is  pre- 
pared at  one  hut,  and  every  family  sends  for  its  portion,  which  explains  a 
singular  spectacle  we  had  seen  on  our  arrival,  a procession  of  women  and 
children,  each  carrying  an  earthen  bowl  containing  a quantity  of  smoking 


7(5  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


hot  broth,  all  coming  down  the  same  road,  and  disappearing  among  the 
different  huts.  Every  member  belonging  to  the  community,  down  to  the 
smallest  pappoose,  contributing  in  turn  a hog.  From  our  ignorance  of  the 
language,  and  the  number  of  other  and  more  pressing  matters  claiming  our 
attention,  we  could  not  learn  all  the  details  of  their  internal  economy,  but 
it  seemed  to  approximate  that  improved  state  of  association  which  is  some- 
times heard  of  among  us;  and  as  theirs  has  existed  for  an  unknown  length 
of  time,  and  can  no  longer  be  considered  merely  experimental,  Owen  or 
Fourier  might  perhaps  take  lessons  from  them  with  advantage.”1  A hundred 
working  men  indicate  a total  of  five  hundred  persons,  who  were  then  depend- 
ing for  their  daily  food  upon  a single  fire,  the  provisions  being  supplied  from 
common  stores,  and  divided  from  the  caldron.  It  is,  not  unlikely,  a truth- 
ful picture  of  the  mode  of  life  of  their  forefathers  in  the  “House  of  the 
Nuns,”  and  in  the  “Governor's  House”  at  Uxmal,  at  the  epoch  of  the  Span- 
ish conquest. 

It  is  well  known  that  Spanish  adventurers  captured  these  pueblos,  one 
after  the  other,  and  attempted  to  enforce  the  labor  of  the  Indians  for  per- 
sonal ends,  and  that  the  Indians  abandoned  their  pueblos  and  retreated  into 
the  inaccessible  forests  to  escape  enslavement,  after  which  their  houses  of 
stone  fell  into  decay,  the  ruins  of  which,  and  all  there  ever  was  of  them, 
still  remain  in  all  parts  of  these  countries 

It  is  hardly  supposable  that  the  communism  here  described  by  Mr. 
Stephens  was  a new  thing  to  the  Mayas;  but  far  more  probable  that  it  was 
a part  of  their  ancient  mode  of  life,  to  which  these  ruined  houses  were  emi- 
nently adapted.  The  subject  of  the  adaptation  of  the  old  pueblo  houses  in 
Yucatan  and  Central  America  to  communism  in  living  will  be  elsewhere 
considered. 

When  Columbus  first  landed  on  the  island  of  Cuba,  he  sent  two  men 
into  the  interior,  who  reported  that  “they  travelled  twenty-two  leagues,  and 
found  a village  of  fifty  houses,  built  like  those  before  spoken  of,  and  they 
contained  about  one  thousand  persons,  because  a whole  generation  lived  in 
a house;  and  the  prime  men  came  out  to  meet  them,  led  them  by  the  arms, 
and  lodged  them  in  one  of  these  new  houses,  causing  them  to  sit  down  on 

1 Incidents  of  Travel  in  Yucatan,  ii,  14. 


MORGAN.] 


TRIBES  OF  PERU. 


77 


seats;  * * * and  they  gave  them  boiled  roots  to  eat,  which  tasted  like 

chestnuts.”1  One  of  the  first  expeditions  which  touched  the  main  land  on  the 
coast  of  Venezuela  in  South  America  found  much  larger  houses  than  these 
last  described.  “The  houses  they  dwelt  in  were  common  to  all,  and  so 
spacious  that  they  contained  one  hundred  and  sixty  persons,  strongly  built, 
though  covered  with  palm-tree  leaves,  and  shaped  like  a bell.”2  Herrera 
further  remarks  of  the  same  tribe,  that  “they  observed  no  law  or  rule  in 
matrimony,  but  took  as  many  wives  as  they  would,  and  they  as  many  hus- 
bands, quitting  one  another  at  pleasure,  without  reckoning  any  wrong  done 
on  either  part.  There  was  no  such  thing  as  jealousy  among  them,  all  living 
as  best  pleased  them,  without  taking  offense  at  one  another.”3  This  shows 
communism  in  husbands  as  well  as  wives,  and  rendered  communism  in  food 
a necessity  of  their  condition  Elsewhere  the  same  author  speaks  of  the 
habitations  of  the  tribes  on  the  coast  of  Carthagena.  “Their  houses  were 
like  long  arbors,  with  several  apartments,  and  they  had  no  beds  but  ham- 
mocks ”4  Many  similar  statements  are  scattered  through  his  work. 

Among  the  more  advanced  tribes  of  Peru  the  lands  were  divided,  and 
allotted  to  different  uses;  one  part  was  for  the  support  of  the  government, 
another  for  the  support  of  religion,  and  another  for  the  support  of  individu- 
als. The  first  two  parts  were  cultivated  by  the  people  under  established 
regulations,  and  the  crops  were  placed  in  public  storehouses.  This  is  the 
statement  of  Gfarcilasso.5  Herrera,  however,  sa}rs  generally  that  the  people 
lived  from  common  stores  “ The  Spaniards  drawing  near  to  Caxamalca 
begun  to  have  a view  of  the  Inca  army  lying  near  the  bottom  of  a mount- 
ain. * * * They  were  pleased  to  see  the  beauty  of  the  fields,  most 

regularly  cultivated,  for  it  was  an  ancient  law  among  these  people  that  all 
should  be  fed  from  common  stores,  and  none  should  touch  the  standing 
corn.”6  The  discrepancy  between  Herrera  and  Gfarcilasso  may  perhaps  be 
explained  by  the  reservation  of  the  crops  grown  on  lands  set  apart  for  the 
government  and  for  religion. 

CT  O 

The  reason  for  presenting  the  foregoing  observations  of  different  authors 
concerning  the  households,  the  houses,  and  the  practice  of  communism  in 

1 Herrera,  i,  55.  3Ib.,216.  3Ib.,  i,  216.  4Ib.,  348. 

5 Royal  Com.  1.  c.,  pp.  154,  157.  6 Herrera,  iv,  249. 


78  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


food,  lias  been  to  show,  firstly,  that  the  household  of  the  Indian  tribes  was 
a large  one,  composed  of  several  families;  secondly,  that  their  houses  were 
constructed  to  accommodate  several  families;  and  thirdly,  that  the  house- 
hold practiced  communism  in  living.  These  are  the  material  facts,  and  they 
have  been  sufficiently  illustrated.  The  single  family  of  civilized  society 
live  from  common  stores,  yet  it  is  not  communism  ; but  where  several  fami- 
lies coalesce  in  one  common  household  and  make  a common  stock  of  their 
provisions,  and  this  is  found  to  be  a general  rule  in  entire  tribes,  it  is  a form 
of  communism  important  to  be  noticed.  It  is  seen  to  belong  to  a society 
in  a low  stage  of  development,  where  it  springs  from  the  necessities  of  their 
condition.  These  usages  and  customs  exhibit  their  plan  of  life,  and  reveal 
the  wide  difference  between  their  condition  and  that  of  civilized  society; 
between  the  Indian  family,  without  individuality,  and  the  highly  individu- 
alized family  of  civilization. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

USAGES  AND  CUSTOMS  WITH  RESPECT  TO  LANDS  AND  TO  FOOD 
THE  OWNERSHIP  OF  LANDS  IN  COMMON. 

Among  the  Iroquois  the  tribal  domain  was  held  and  owned  by  the  tribe 
in  common.  Individual  ownership,  with  the  right  to  sell  and  convey  in 
fee-simple  to  any  other  person,  was  entirely  unknown  among  them.  It  re- 
quired the  experience  and  development  of  the  two  succeeding  ethnical  periods 
to  bring  mankind  to  such  a knowledge  of  property  in  land  as  its  individual 
ownership  with  the  power  of  alienation  in  fee-simple  implies.  No  per- 
son in  Indian  life  could  obtain  the  absolute  title  to  land,  since  it  was 
vested  by  custom  in  the  tribe  as  one  body,  and  they  had  no  conception  of 
what  is  implied  by  a legal  title  in  severalty  with  power  to  sell  and  convey 
the  fee.  But  he  could  reduce  unoccupied  land  to  possession  by  cultivation, 
and  so  long  as  he  thus  used  it  he  had  a possessory  right  to  its  enjoyment 
which  would  be  recognized  and  respected  by  his  tribe.  Gardens,  planting  - 
lots,  apartments  in  a long-liouse,  and,  at  a later  day,  orchards  of  fruit  were 
thus  held  by  persons  and  by  families.  Such  possessory  right  was  all  that 
was  needed  for  their  full  enjoyment  and  for  the  protection  of  their  interest 
in  them  A person  might  transfer  or  donate  his  rights  to  other  persons 
of  the  same  tribe,  and  they  also  passed  by  inheritance,  under  established 
customs,  to  his  gentile  kin.  This  was  substantially  the  Indian  system  in 
respect  to  the  ownership  of  lands  and  apartments  in  houses  among  the 
Indian  tribes  within  the  areas  of  the  United  States  and  British  America  in 
the  Lower  Status  of  barbarism.  In  later  times,  when  the  State  or  National 
Government  acquired  Indian  lands,  and  made  compensation  therefor,  pay- 
ment for  the  lands  went  to  the  tribe,  and  for  improvements  to  the  individ- 
ual who  had  the  possessory  right.  At  the  Tonawanda  Reservation  of  the 

70 


80  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


Seneca-Iroquois,  a portion  of  the  lands  are  divided  into  separate  farms, 
which  are  fenced  and  occupied  in  severalty,  while  the  remainder  are  owned 
by  the  tribe  in  common.  When  a young  man  marries  and  has  no  land  on 
which  to  subsist,  the  chiefs  may  allot  him  a portion  of  these  reserved  lands. 
The  title  to  all  these  lands,  occupied  and  unoccupied,  remains  in  the  tribe 
in  common.  Individuals  may  sell  or  rent  their  possessory  rights  to  each 
other,  or  rent  them  to  a white  man.  No  white  man  can  now  acquire  a title 
from  an  Indian  to  Indian  lands  in  any  part  of  the  United  States.  A person 
could  transfer  his  possessions  to  another,  but  apartments  in  a house  must 
remain  to  his  gentile  kindred.  In  the  time  of  James  II  the  right  to  acquire 
lands  was  vested  in  the  Crown  exclusively  as  a royal  prerogative,  to  which 
prerogative  our  State  and  National  Governments  succeeded. 

The  same  usages  prevail  on  the  Tuscarora  Reservation,  near  the  Niag- 
ara River,  where  this  Iroquois  tribe  owns  in  common  about  8,000  acres  of 
fine  agricultural  land  in  one  body.  A part  of  this  reservation  has  long 
been  parceled  out  to  individuals  in  small  farms,  fenced,  and  cultivated  by 
the  possessors.  The  remainder  is  unparceled  and  under  the  control  of  the 
chiefs.  The  people  are  allowed  to  remove  from  the  wood-land  of  the  reserve 
the  dead  wood  and  litter,  but  are  not  permitted  to  touch  the  standing  tim- 
ber. When  a young  man  marries,  if  he  has  no  land,  the  chiefs  allot  him 
forty  acres  to  cultivate  for  his  subsistence ; but,  before  giving  him  posses- 
sion, the  lot  is  first  open  to  all  the  tribe  to  cut  otf  the  timber  for  fire- wood. 
Tints,  the  double  object  is  gained  of  supplying  the  people  with  fire-wood 
and  of  clearing  the  land  for  cultivation  for  the  new  family.  These  possess- 
or}7 rights  pass  by  inheritance  to  the  recognized  heirs.  A person  may 
transfer  or  rent  his  possession  to.  another  person  ; he  may  rent  to  a white 
man,  but  in  no  case  can  lie  sell  to  a white  man. 

And  here  I may  be  allowed  a brief  digression,  to  notice  a recent  opin- 
ion of  the  late  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  Hon.  Carl  Scliurz,  shared  in  to 
some  extent  by  the  National  Government,  in  relation  to  the  division  of  our 
Indian  reservations  into  lots  or  tracts,  and  their  conveyance  in  severalty  to 
the  Indians  themselves,  with  power  of  alienation  to  white  men  after  a short 
period,  say  twenty-five  years.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  policy  will  never  be 
adopted  by  any  National  Administration,  as  it  is  fraught  with  nothing  but 


MORGAN.] 


OWNERSHIP  OE  LANDS  IN  SEVERALTY. 


81 


mischief  to  the  Indian  tribes.  The  Indian  is  still,  as  lie  always  has  been, 
and  will  remain  for  many  years  to  come,  entirely  incapable  of  meeting  the 
white  man,  with  safety  to  himself,  in  the  field  of  trade  and  of  resisting  the 
arts  and  inducements  which  would  be  brought  to  bear  upon  him.  lie  is 
incapable  of  steadily  attaching  that  value  to  the  ownership  of  land  which 
its  importance  deserves,  or  of  knowing  how  far  the  best  interests  of  himself 
and  family  are  involved  in  its  continued  possession.  The  result  of  individ- 
ual Indian  ownership,  with  power  to  sell,  would  unquestionably  be,  that  in 
a very  short  time  he  would  divest  himself  of  every  foot  of  land  and  fall 
into  poverty.  The  case  of  the  Shawnee  tribe  of  Kansas  affords  a perfect 
illustration  of  this  pernicious  policy.  The  Shawnees  were  removed  to 
Kansas  under  the  Jackson  policy,  so  called,  and  occupied  a splendid 
reservation  on  the  Kansas  River,  where  they  were  told  they  were  to  make 
their  home  forever.  But  after  a few  years  of  undisturbed  possession,  our 
people,  in  the  natural  flow  of  population,  reached  Kansas,  where  they  found 
the  Shawnees  in  possession  of  the  best  part  of  what  has  since  been  the 
State  of  Kansas  Our  people  at  once  wanted  these  Indian  lands,  and  they 
determined  to  root  out  the  Shawnees  in  the  interest  of  civilization  and 
progress.  They  accomplished  this  result  in  the  most  speedy  and  scientific 
manner,  using  as  their  proposed  lever  this  identical  plan  since  adopted  by 
Mr.  Scliurz.  First,  the  government  was  induced  to  re-purchase  a part  of 
the  reservation  on  the  ground  that  they  had  more  land  than  they  needed 
for  cultivation  ; and,  secondly,  the  government  induced  the  Indians  to  have 
the  remainder  divided  up  into  farms  and  conveyed  to  heads  of  families 
in  severalty,  with  power  of  alienation.  In  1859,  when  this  scheme  was 
being  worked  out,  I visited  Kansas,  and  found  the  Shawnees  cultivating 
and  improving  their  farms,  some  of  which  embraced  a thousand  acres, 
and  owning  them,  too,  like  other  farmers.  When  next  in  Kansas,  ten  years 
later,  the  work  was  done.  There  was  not  a Shawnee  in  Kansas,  but 
American  farmers  were  in  possession  of  all  these  lands.  It  was  this  indi- 
vidual ownership  with  power  to  sell  that  had  done  the  work. 

In  managing  the  affairs  of  our  Indian  tribes,  we  must  apply  a little 
common  sense  to  their  condition.  In  their  brains  they  are  in  the  same  stage 
of  growth  and  development  with  our  remote  forefathers  when  they  learned 
0 


82  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


to  domesticate  animals,  and  came  to  rely  upon  a meat  and  milk  subsistence. 
The  next  condition  of  advancement  at  which  the  Indian  would  naturally 
reach  is  the  pastoral,  the  raising  of  flocks  and  herds  of  domestic  animals. 
The  Indian  has  taught  himself  to  raise  the  horse  in  herds,  and  some  of  the 
tribes  raise  sheep  and  goats.  A few  of  them  raise  cattle.  If  the  govern- 
ment could  assist  them  in  this  until  they  were  started,  they  would  soon 
become  expert  herdsmen ; would  make  a proper  use  of  the  unoccupied 
prairie  area  in  the  interior  of  the  continent  as  well  as  of  the  reservations, 
and  would  become  prosperous  and  abundant  in  their  resources. 

Among  the  sedentary  Village  Indians  of  New  Mexico,  who  were  in  the 
Middle  Status  of  barbarism,  the  land  system  is  much  the  same  in  principle, 
but  with  special  usages  adapted  to  a more  advanced  condition  At  Taos, 
the  pueblo  lands  are  held  under  a Spanish  grant  of  1689,  covering  four 
Spanish  square  leagues.  This  grant  was  afterward  confirmed,  as  I am  in- 
formed by  David  J.  Miller,  esq.  of  the  surveyor-general’s  office  at  Santa 
Fe,  by  letters  patent  of  the  United  States.  It  is,  of  course,  to  the  Taos 
Indians  in  common  as  a tribe,  and  without  the  power  of  alienation  except 
among  themselves  These  lands  have  been  allotted  from  time  to  time  to 
individuals,  and  held  in  severalty  for  cultivation  ; but  these  allotments,  so 
to  call  them,  are  verbal,  and  the  rights  of  persons  to  their  possession  are 
settled  and  adjusted  by  the  chiefs  in  case  of  disputes.  Mr.  Miller  wrote  me 
from  Taos,  under  date  of  December  5,  1877,  that  “A  land-owner  cannot, 
under  any  circumstance,  sell  to  any  but  a Pueblo  Indian,  and  one  of  tins 
(Taos)  pueblo  If  he  should  do  so  he  would  be  banished  the  pueblo,  and 
the  sale  be  treated  as  void.  There  is  an  instance  now  in  this  pueblo  of  a San 
Juan  Indian  man  married  here,  but  he  is  not  allowed  to  acquire  land  in  the 
pueblo  premises.  His  wife  has  lands  which  he  cultivates.  A piece  of  land 
belonging  to  a man  may  or  may  not  be  utilized  by  him,  but  it  is  recognized 
and  treated  as  his  in  fee  until  he  sell  it  or  dies.  If  a lad  grows  up  and 
marries,  and  his  father  or  father-in-law  has  no  land  to  give  him,  he  may  pur- 
chase in  the  pueblo,  or  the  pueblo  may  assign  him  land,  whereby  the  title 
in  fee  as  private  property  remains  in  him  until  he  sells  or  dies.  When  he 
dies  it  is  divided  equally  among  widow  and  children.  If  the  children  are 
small,  his  brother  or  other  relatives  cultivate  the  land  for  them  until  they 


MORGAN.] 


USAGES  AMONG  PUEBLO  INDIANS. 


83 


can  do  it  for  themselves  ; but  the  right  of  property  is  in  the  children.  When 
a piece  of  land  is  sold  it  is  done  in  the  presence  of  witnesses,  if  it  is  so  de- 
sired. Oftener  the  sale  and  transfer  are  made  by  and  between  the  parties 
themselves  No  documents  are  used.  This  is  so  in  all  the  pueblos.  The 
rules  and  customs  in  the  sale  and  deliveiy  of  rooms  in  a house  and  of  per- 
sonal property,  such  as  animals,  are  the  same.  There  is  no  preference,  as 
to  males  or  females,  in  the  descent  of  property  rights  and  titles  There  is 
a corn-field  at  each  pueblo,  cultivated  by  all  in  common,  and  when  grain  is 
scarce  the  poor  take  from  this  store  after  it  is  housed.  It  is  in  the  charge 
of,  and  at  the  disposal  of,  the  cacique  (called  the  governor).  Land  cannot 
be  sold  to  an  alien ; but  an  Indian  coming  from  another  pueblo  to  live  at 
this  may  acquire  land  to  subsist  upon,  though  such  immigration  is  rare.  It 
is  not  allowed  at  any  of  the  pueblos  that  a white  person  acquire  prop- 
erty therein.  An  Indian  woman  is  not  allowed  to  marry  a Mexican  and 
live  at  the  pueblo.  A piece  of  land  held  and  recognized  as  belonging  to  a 
person  is  his  property,  whether  he  utilizes  it  or  not,  and  he  may  sell  or 
donate  it  absolutely  at  his  will  to  persons  within  the  community. 

“At  Jemes  and  Zia  (other  pueblos  in  New  Mexico),  when  a woman  dies 
her  property  goes  into  the  control  of  her  husband;  if  a widow,  it  descends 
to  her  children  ; if  she  has  no  children,  it  goes  to  her  brothers  and  sisters 
equally;  and  if  none  survive  her,  then  to  her  nearest  relatives;  if  she  has 
no  relatives,  then  to  such  friends  as  attend  her  in  her  last  illness.  It  never 
reverts  to  the  pueblo,  which  as  a corporate  community  owns  no  land.” 

What  Mr.  Miller  refers  to  as  property  rights  and  titles,  and  ownership 
in  fee  of  land,  is  sufficiently  explained  by  the  possessory  right  found 
among  the  Northern  tribes.  The  limitations  upon  its  alienation  to  an 
Indian  from  another  pueblo  or  to  a white  man,  not  to  lay  any  stress  upon 
the  absence  of  written  conveyances  of  titles  made  possible  by  Spanish  and 
American  intercourse,  show  quite  plainly  that  their  ideas  respecting  the 
ownership  of  the  ultimate  title  to  land,  with  power  to  alienate  in  fee,  were 
entirely  below  this  conception  of  property  in  land.  The  more  important 
ends  of  individual  ownership  were  obtained  through  the  possessory  right, 
while  the  ultimate  title  remained  in  the  tribe  for  the  protection  of  all. 
That  the  pueblo  now  owns  no  land,  as  Mr.  Miller  states,  must  be  under- 


84  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


stood  to  mean  that  all  the  lands  of  the  oiiginal  grant  have  been  parcelled 
out.  The  further  statement  of  Mr.  Miller,  that  if  a father  dies  his  land  is 
divided  between  his  widow  and  children,  and  that  if  a mother  dies,  leaving 
no  husband,  her  land  is  divided  equally  between  her  sons  and  daughters,  is 
important,  because  it  shows  an  inheritance  by  the  children  from  both  father 
and  mother,  a total  departure  from  the  principles  of  gentile  inheritance. 
While  visiting  the  Taos  pueblo  in  the  summer  of  ! 878  I was  unable  to  find 
among  them  the  gentile  organization,  and  from  lack  of  sufficient  time  could 
not  inquire  into  their  rules  of  descent  and  inheritance. 

My  friend,  Mr.  Ad.  F.  Bandolier,  now  recognized  as  our  most  eminent 
scholar  in  Spanish  American  history,  has  recently  investigated  the  subject 
of  the  tenure  of  lands  among  the  ancient  Mexicans  with  great  thoroughness 
of  research.  The  results  are  contained  in  an  essay  published  in  the  Eleventh 
Annual  Report  of  the  Peabody  Museum  of  Archasology  and  Ethnology,  p. 
385  (Cambridge,  1 878).  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  incorporate  verbatim 
in  this  chapter,  and  with  his  permission,  so  much  of  this  essay  as  relates  to 
the  kinds  or  classes  of  land  recognized  among  them,  the  manner  in  which 
they  were  held,  and  his  general  conclusions. 

In  the  pueblo  of  Mexico  (Tenochtitlan),  he  remarks:  “Four  quarters 
had  been  formed  by  the  localizing  of  four  relationships  composing  them 
respectively,  and  it  is  expressly  stated  that  each  one  ‘might  build  in  its 
quarter  (barrio)  as  it  liked.’1  The  term  for  these  relationships,  in  the  Na- 
lmatl  tongue,  and  used  among  all  the  tribes  speaking  it,  was  ‘calpulli.’ 
It  is  also  used  to  designate  a great  hall  or  house,  and  we  may  therefore 
infer  that,  originally  at  least,  all  the  members  of  one  kinship  dwelt  under 
one  common  roof. 2 3 The  ground  thus  occupied  by  the  ‘calpulli’  was  not,  as 

1 Duran  (Cap.  V,  p.  42).  Acosta  (Lib.  VII,  cap.  VII,  p.  467).  Herrera  (Dec.  Ill,  Lib.  II,  cap. 

XI,  p.  61). 

3Torquemada  (Lib.  II,  cap.  LXVIII,  p.  194.  “Estaba  de  ordinario,  recogido  en  una  grande  Sala 
(6  calpul).”  (Lib.  Ill,  cap>.  XXVII,  p.  305.  Lib.  IV,  cap.  XIX,  p.  396  (que  asi  Hainan  las  Salas  grandes 
de  Comunidad,  u de  Cabildo).  We  find,  under  the  corrupted  name  of  “galpon,”  the  “calpulli”  in 
Nicaragua  among  the  Niquirans,  which  speak  a dialect  of  the  Mexican  (Nahuatl)  language.  See  E.  G. 
Squier  (“Nicaragua,”  Vol.  II,  p.  342).  “The  council-houses  were  called  grepons,  surrounded  by  broad 
corridors  called  galpons,  beneath  which  the  arms  were  kept,  protected  by  a guard  of  young  men”). 
Mr.  Squier  evidently  bases  upon  Oviedo  (“Hist,  general,”  Lib.  XLII,  cap.  Ill,  p.  52.  “ Esta  casa  do 

cabildo  llaman  galpon  . . .”  It  is  another  evidence  in  favor  of  our  statements,  that  the  kinship 

formed  the  original  unit  of  the  tribe,  and  at  the  same  time  a hint  that,  as  in  New  Mexico,  originally 
an  entire  kin  inhabited  a single  large  house.  See  Molina’s  Vocab.  (p.  11). 


MORGAN.  | 


LANDS  AMONG  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


85 


Torquemada  admits,  assigned  to  it  by  a higher  power ; the  tribal  government 
itself  held  no  domain  which  it  might  apportion  among  subdivisions  or  to 
individuals,  either  gratuitously  or  on  condition  of  certain  prestations,  or 
barter  against  a consideration.1 * 3  The  tribal  territory  was  distributed,  at  the 
time  of  its  occupancy,  into  possessory  rights  held  by  the  kindred  groups  as 
such,  by  common  and  tacit  consent,  as  resulting  naturally  from  their  organi- 
zation and  state  of  culture d 

“The  patches  of  solid  ground,  on  which  these  ‘quarters’  settled,  were 
gradually  built  over  with  dwellings,  first  made  out  of  canes  and  reeds,  and 
latterly,  as  their  means  increased,  of  turf,  ‘adobe,’  and  light  stone  These 
houses  were  of  large  size , since  it  is  stated  that  even  at  the  time  of  the  con- 
quest ‘ there  were  seldom  less  than  two,  four,  and  six  dwellers  in  one  house; 
thus  there  were  infinite  people  (in  the  pueblo)  since,  as  there  was  no  other 
way  of  providing  for  them,  many  aggregated  together  as  they  might  please.’ 
Communal  living , as  the  idea  of  the  ‘ calpulli  ’ implies,  seems,  therefore,  to 
have  prevailed  among  the  Mexicans  as  late  as  the  period  of  their  greatest 
power'd 


1 The  division  into  “quarters  ” is  everywhere  represented  as  resulting  from  common  consent.  But 

nowhere  is  it  stated  that  the  tribal  government  or  authority  assigned  locations  to  any  of  its  fractions. 
This  is  only  attributed  to  the  chiefs,  on  the  supposition  that  they,  although  elective,  were  still  hereditary 
monarchs. 

3 There  is  no  evidence  of  any  tribute  or  prestation  due  by  the  quarters  to  the  tribe.  The  custom 
always  remained,  that  the  “ calpulli”  was  sovereign  within  its  limits.  See  Alonzo  de  Zurita  (“Rapport 
sur  les  differentes  classes  de  chefs  de  la  Nouvelle-Espagne,”  pp.  51-65).  Besides,  Ixtlilxochitl  says: 
(“Hist,  des  Cliichim,”  cap.  XXXV,  p.  242),  “Other  fields  were  called  Calpolalli  or  Altepetlalli.”  Now 
calpulalli  (from  “calpulli,”  quarter  or  kinship,  and  “tlalli,”  soil),  means  soil  of  the  bin,  and  altepetlalli 
(“  altepetl,”  tribe),  soil  of  the  tribe.  Clavigero  even  says  that  the  lands  called  “ altepetlalli,”  belong- 
ing to  the  communities  “of  the  towns  and  villages,  were  divided  into  so  many  parts  as  there  were 
quarters  in  the  town,  each  quarter  having  its  own,  without  the  least  connection  will  the  other.”  (Lib.  VII, 
cap.  XIV.)  This  indicates  plainly  that  the  kinships  held  the  soil,  whereas  the  tribe  occupied  the  terri- 
torial expanse.  The  domain,  either  as  pertaining  to  a “lord,”  or  to  a “ state,”  was  unknown  among 
the  Indians  in  general.  Even  among  the  Peruvians,  who  were  more  advanced  than  the  Mexicans  in 
that  respect,  there  was  no  domain  of  the  tribe. 

3 See  Torquemada  (Lib.  II,  cap.  XI,  and  Lib.  Ill,  cap  XXII).  DurJn  (cap.  V).  The  quotation  is 
from  Herrera  (Dec.  II,  Lib.  VII,  cap.  XIII,  p.  190),  and  is  confirmed  by  Torquemada  (Lib.  Ill,  cap.  XXIII, 
p.  291),  and  especially  by  Gomara  (“  Conquista  de  Mejico,”  p.  443.  Vedia,  I).  “Many  married  people 
(“muchos  casados”)  live  in  one  house,  either  on  account  of  The  brothers  and  relations  being  together, 
as  they  do  not  divide  their  grounds  ( “ heredades  ”),  or  on  account  of  the  limited  space  of  the  pueblos  ; 
although  the  pueblos  are  large,  and  even  the  houses.”  Peter  Martyr  of  Angleria  (“  De  Novo  Orbe,” 
translated  by  Richard  Eden  and  Michael  Lok,  London,  1612,  Dec.  Y,  cap.  X,  p.  228),  says:  “But  the 
common  houses  themselves  as  hygh  as  a mannes  Girdle,  were  also  built  of  stone,  by  reason  of  the 
swellyng  of  the  lake  through  the  floode,  or  washing  flote  of  the  Ryvers  f allying  into  it.  Vpon  those 
greate  foundations,  they  builde  the  reste  of  the  house,  with  Bricke  dryed,  or  burned  in  the  sunne,  inter- 
mingled with  Beames  of  Tymber,  and  the  common  houses  have  but  one  floore  or  plancbin.”  We  are 


8(5  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


“ The  soil  built  over  by  each  ‘ calpnlli  ’ probably  remained  for  some 
time  the  only  solid  expanse  held  by  the  Mexicans.  Gradually,  however, 
the  necessity  was  felt  for  an  increase  of  this  soil.  Remaining  unmolested 
‘ in  the  midst  of  canes  and  reeds,’  their  numbers  had  augmented,  and  for 
residence  as  well  as  for  food  a greater  area  was  needed.  Fishing  and 
hunting  no  longer  satisfied  a people  whose  original  propensities  were  horti- 
cultural ; they  aspired  to  cultivate  the  soil  as  they  had  once  been  accus- 
tomed to,  and  after  the  manner  of  the  kindred  tribes  surrounding  them. 
For  this  purpose  they  began  throwing  up  little  artificial  garden  beds,  ‘ chi- 
nampas,’  on  which  they  planted  Indian  corn  and  perhaps  some  other  vege- 
tables. Such  plots  are  still  found,  as  ‘floating  gardens,’  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  present  city  of  Mexico,  and  they  are  described  as  follows  by  a traveler 
of  this  century  : 

“ ‘ They  are  artificial  gardens,  about  fifty  or  sixty  yards  long,  and  not 
more  than  four  or  five  wide.  They  are  separated  by  ditches  of  three  or 
four  yards,  and  are  made  by  taking  the  soil  from  the  intervening  ditch  and 
throwing  it  on  the  chinampa,  by  which  means  the  ground  is  raised  gen- 
erally about  a yard,  and  thus  forms  a small  fertile  garden,  covered  with 
the  finest  culinary  vegetables,  fruits,  and  flowers.  * * *’ 

“Each  consanguine  relationship  thus  gradually  surrounded  the  surface 
on  which  it  dwelt  with  a number  of  garden  plots  sufficient  to  the  wants  of 
its  members.  The  aggregate  area  thereof,  including  the  abodes,  formed 
the  ‘ calpullalli ' — soil  of  the  ‘calpulli’* 1 — and  was  held  by  it  as  a unit;  the  single 
tracts , however,  being  tilled  and  used  for  the  benefit  of  the  single  families. 
The  mode  of  tenure  of  land  among  the  Mexicans  at  that  period  was  there- 
fore very  simple.  The  tribe  claimed  its  territory,  ‘altepetlalli,’  an  unde- 
fined expanse  over  which  it  might  extend — the  ‘calpules,’  however,  held  and 
possessed  ivithin  that  territory  such  portions  of  it  as  were  productive ; each 

forcibly  reminded  here  of  the  houses  of  Itza  on  Lake  Peten,  which  were  found  in  1695.  “Hist,  do  la 
Conq.  de  los  Itzaex,”  Lib.  VIII,  cap.  XII,  p.  494.”  “ It  was  all  filled  with  houses,  some  with  stone  walls 

more  than  one  rod  high,  and  higher  up  of  wood,  and  the  roofs  of  straw,  and  some  ouly  of  wood  and 
straw.  There  lived  in  them  all  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Island  brutally  together,  one  relationship  occu- 
pying a single  house.”  See  also  the  highly  valuable  Introduction  to  the  second  Dialogue  of  Cervantes- 
Salazar  (“Mexico  in  1554”)  by  my  excellent  friend  Sr.  Icazbalceta  (pp. 73  and 74). 

1 Alonzo  de  Zurita  (p.  51).  Ixtlilxochitl  (“Hist,  des  Chichim,”  cap.  XXXV,  p.  242).  Torquemada 
(Lib.  XIV,  cap.  VII,  p.  545).  Bustamante  (“Tezcoco  en  los  ultimos  Tiempos  de  sus  antiguas  Keyes,” 
p.  232). 


MORGAN]  OWNERSHIP  OP  LANDS  AMONG  ANCIENT  MEXICANS.  87 


‘calpulli’  being  sovereign  within  its  limits,  and  assigning-  to  its  individual 
members  for  their  use  the  minor  tracts  into  which  the  soil  was  parcelled  in 
consequence  of  their  mode  of  cultivation.  If,  therefore,  the  terms  ‘altepet- 
lalli’  and  ‘calpulalli’  are  occasionally  regarded  as  identical , it  is  because  the 
former  indicates  the  occupancy , the  latter  the  distribution  of  the  soil.  We 
thus  recognize  in  the  calpulli,  or  kindred  group,  the  unit  of  tenure  of  what- 
ever soil  the  Mexicans  deemed  worthy  of  definite  possession.  Further  on 
we  shall  investigate  how  far  individuals,  as  members  of  this  communal  unit, 
participated  in  the  aggregate  tenure. 

“ In  the  course  of  time,  as  the  population  further  increased,  segmentation 
occurred  within  the  four  original  ‘ quarters, ’new  ‘ calpulli’  being  formed.1  For 
governmental  purposes  this  segmentation  produced  a new  result  by  leaving, 
more  particularly  in  military  affairs,  the  first  four  clusters  as  great  subdivis- 
ions.2 But  these,  as  soon  as  they  had  disaggregated,  ceased  to  be  any  longer 
units  of  territorial  possession,  their  original  areas  being  held  thereafter  by 
the  ‘minor  quarters’  (as  Herrera,  for  instance,  calls  them),  who  exercised, 
each  one  within  its  limits,  the  same  sovereignty  which  the  original  ‘calpulli’ 
formerly  held  over  the  whole.3  A further  consequence  of  this  disaggrega- 

lThis  successive  formation  of  new  “calpulli  ” is  nowhere  explicitly  stated,  but  it  is  implied  by 
the  passage  of  Diirdn  which  we  have  already  quoted  (Cap.  V,  p.  42).  It  also  results  from  their  military 
organization  as  described  in  the  “Art  of  War”  (p.  115).  With  the  increase  of  population,  the  original 
kinships  necessarily  disaggregated  further,  as  we  have  seen  it  to  have  occurred  among  the  Qquiclid  (see 
“ Popol-Vuh,”  quoted  in  our  note  7),  forming  smaller  groups  of  consanguinei.  After  the  successful  war 
against  the  Tecpanecas,  of  which  we  shall  speak  hereafter,  we  find  at  least  twenty  chiefs,  representing 
as  many  kins  (Duran,  cap.  XI,  p.  97),  besides  three  more,  adopted  then  from  those  of  Culhuacan  (Id., 
pp.  98  and  99).  This  indicates  an  increase. 

2 “Art  of  War,  etc.,”  pp.  115  and  120. 

3Torquemada  (Lib.  Ill,  cap.  XXIV,  p.  295) : “ I confess  it  to  he  truth  that  this  city  of  Mexico  is 
divided  into  four  principal  quarters,  each  one  of  which  contains  others,  smaller  ones,  included,  and  all, 
in  common  as  well  as  in  particular,  have  their  commanders  and  leaders  . . . .”  Zurita  (“EappoTt,” 
p.  58-04).  That  the  smaller  subdivisions  were  those  who  held  the  soil,  and  not  the  four  original  groups, 
must  he  inferred  from  the  fact  that  the  ground  was  attached  to  the  calpulli.  Says  Zurita  (p.  51),  “They 
(the  lands)  do  not  belong  to  each  inhabitant  of  the  village,  hut  to  the  calpulli,  which  possesses  them  in 
common.”  On  the  other  hand,  Torquemada  states  (Lib.  XIV,  cap.  VII, p.  545),  “That  in  each  jiuehlo, 
according  to  the  number  of  people,  there  should  he  (were)  clusters  (‘parcialidades’)  of  diverse  people 
and  families  ....  These  clusters  were  distributed  by  calpules,  which  are  quarters  (‘barrios’),  and 
it  happened  that  one  of  the  aforesaid  clusters  sometimes  contained  three,  four,  and  more  calpules, 
according  to  the  population  of  the  place  (‘pueblo’)  or  tribe.”  The  same  author  further  affirms:  “These 
quarters  and  streets  were  all  assorted  and  leveled  with  so  much  accuracy  that  those  of  one  quarter 
or  street  could  not  take  a palm  of  land  from  those  of  another,  and  the  same  was  with  the  streets,  their 
lots  running  (being  scattered)  all  over  the  pueblo.”  Consequently  there  were  no  communal  lauds 
allotted  to  the  four  great  quarters  of  Mexico  as  such,  hut  each  one  of  the  kinships  (calpules)  held  its 
part  of  the  original  aggregate.  Compare  Gomara  (Vedia,  Vol.  I,  “Conq.  dc  Mejico,”  p.  434:  “Among 
tributaries  it  is  a custom,  etc.,  etc.”  Also  p.  440).  Clavigero  (Lib.  VII,  cap.  XIV) : “ Each  quarter  has 
its  own  tract,  without  the  least  connection  with  the'others.” 


88  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


tion  was  (by  removing  the  tribal  council  farther  from  the  calpules)  the 
necessity  for  an  official  building , exclusively  devoted  to  the  business  of  the 
whole  tribe  alone.1 

“This  building  was  the  lteepan ’ called,  even  by  Torquemada,  ‘house  of 
the  community’;  it  was,  therefore,  since  the  council  of  chiefs  was  the  high- 
est authority  in  the  government,  the  ‘council  house’  proper.  It  was  erected 
near  the  center  of  the  ‘pueblo,’  and  fronting  the  open  space  reserved  for 
public  celebrations.  But,  whereas’  formerly  occasional,  gradually  merging 
into  regular , meetings  of  the  chiefs  were  sufficient,  constant  daily  attendance 
at  the  “teepan’  became  required,  even  to  such  an  extent  that  a permanent 
residence  of  the  head-chief  there  resulted  from  it  and  was  one  of  the  duties  of 
the  office.  Consequently  the  ‘ tlacatecuhtli,’  his  family,  and  such  assistants 
as  he  needed  (like  runners),  dwelt  at  the  ‘official  house.’  But  this  occu- 
pancy was  in  no  manner  connected  with  a possessory  right  by  the  occupant, 
whose  family  relinquished  the  abode  as  soon  as  the  time  of  office  expired 
through  death  of  its  incumbent.  The  ‘teepan’  was  occupied  by  the  head  war- 
chiefs  only  as  long  as  they  exercised  the  functions  of  that  office.2  * * * 

“Of  those  tracts  whose  products  were  exclusively  applied  to  the  gov- 
ernmental needs  of  the  pueblo  or  tribe  itself  (taken  as  an  independent  unit) 
there  were,  as  we  have  already  seen,  two  particular  classes : 

“The  first  was  the  ‘teepan-tlalli,’  land  of  the  house  of  the  community, 
whose  crops  were  applied  to  the  sustenance  of  euch  as  employed  themselves 
in  the  construction,  ornamentation,  and  repairs  of  the  public  house.  Of 
these  there  were  sometimes  several  within  the  tribal  area.  They  were  tilled 
in  common  by  special  families  who  resided  on  them,  using  the  crops  in  com- 
pensation for  the  work  they  performed  on  the  official  buildings. 

1 Compare  Duran  (Cap.  XI, p.  87).  Acosta  (Lib.  VII,  cap,  XXXI,  p.  470).  It  appears  as  if  the 
“teepan”  bad  not  been  constructed  previous  to  Ihe  middle  of  the  14tb  century,  the  meetings  of  tbe 
tribe  being  previously  called  together  by  priests,  and  probably  in  the  open  space  around  the  main  bouse 
of  worship.  Tbe  fact  of  the  priests  calling  tbe  public  meetings  is  proved  by  Duran  (Cap.  IV,  p.  42). 
Acosta  (Lib.  VII,  cap.  VII,  p.  468).  Veytia  (Lib.  II,  cap.  XVIII,  pp.  156,150.  Cap.  XXI,  p.  186). 
Acosta  first  mentions  “unos  palacios,  aunque  harto  pobres.”  (Lib.  VII,  cap.  8,  p.  470),  on  tbe  occasion 
of  tbe  election  of  tbe  first  regular  “tlacatecuhtli:”  Acamapichtli — Torquemada  says  (Lib.  XII,  cap. 
XXII,  p.  290)  that  they  lived  in  miserable  huts  of  reeds  and  straw,  erected  around  tbe  open  space 
where  the  altar  or  place  of  worship  of  Huitzilopochtli  was  built.  Tbe  public  building  was  certainly 
their  latest  kind  of  construction. 

-Nearly  every  author  who  attempts  to  describe  minutely  the  “ chief-house”  (teepan)  mentions  it 
as  containing  great  balls  (council-rooms).  See  the  description  of  the  teepan  of  Tezcuco  by  Ixtlilxochitl 
(“Hist,  des  Chichimcques,”  cap.  XXXVI,  p.  217).  « 


MORGAN.] 


DIVISION  OF  THE  LANDS. 


89 


“The  second  class  was  called  ‘tlatoca-tlalli,’  land  of  the  speakers.  Of 
these  there  was  but  one  tract  in  each  tribe,  which  was  to  be  ‘four  hundred 
of  their  measures  long  on  each  side,  each  measure  being  equal  to  three 
Castilian  rods.’1  The  crops  raised  on  such  went  exclusively  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  household  at  the  ‘teepan,’  comprising  the  head-chief  and  his 
family  with  the  assistants.  The  tract  was  worked  in  turn  by  the  other 
members  of  the  tribe,  and  it  remained  always  public  ground,  reserved  for 
the  same  purposes.2 3 

“ Both  of  these  kinds  were  often  comprised  in  one,  and  it  is  even  not 
improbable  that  the  first  one  may  have  been  but  a variety  of  the  general 
tribute-lands  devoted  to  the  benefit  of  the  conquering  confederates.  Still 
the  evidence  on  this  point  is  too  indefinite  to  warrant  such  an  assumption. 

“ While  the  crops  raised  on  the  ‘teepan-tlalli,’  as  well  as  on  the  ‘tlatoca- 
tlalli,’  were  consumed  exclusively  by  the  official  houses  and  households  of 
the  tribe,  the  soil  itself  which  produced  these  crops  was  neither  claimed  nor 
possessed  by  the  chiefs  themselves  or  their  descendants.  It  was  simply,  as 
far  as  its  products  were  concerned,  official  soil.2 

“ The  establishing  and  maintaining  of  these  areal  subdivisions  was  very 
simple  with  the  tribes  of  the  mainland,  since  they  all  possessed  ample  terri- 
tories for  their  wants  and  for  the  requirements  of  their  organizations.  Their 
soil  formed  a contiguous  unit.  It  was  not  so,  however,  with  the  Mexicans 
proper.  With  all  their  industry  in  adding  artificial  sod  to  the  patch  on 
which  they  had  originally  settled,  the  solid  surface  was  eventually  much 
too  small  for  their  numbers,  and  they  themselves  put  an  efficient  stop  to 

1 Ixtlilxochitl  (“Hist,  des  Chicliim,”  cap.  XXXV,  p.  242).  Vedia  (Lib.  Ill,  cap.  VI,  p.  195).  “ This 
had  to  he  four  hundred  of  their  measures  in  square  (‘encuadro,’  each  side  long),  each  one  of  these  being 
equal  to  three  Castilian  rods  . . . .”  See  “Art  of  War”  (p.  944,  note  183).  “ The  rod”  (vara)  is  equal 

to  2.78209  feet  English  (Guyot). 

3 Veytia  (Lib.  Ill,  cap.  VI,  p.  195).  It  is  superfluous  to  revert  to  the  erroneous  impression  that 
the  chiefs  might  dispose  of  it. 

3 “ Patrimonial  Estates”  are  mentioned  frequently,  but  the  point  is,  where  are  they  to  be  found? 
Neither  the  “teepan-tlalli”  nor  the  “tlatoca-tlalli,”  still  less  the  “calpulalli,”  show  any  trace  of  indi- 
vidual ownership.  “Eredad”  (heirloom)  is  called  indiscriminately  “milli”  and  “cuemitl”  (Molina, 
Parte  la,  p.  57).  The  latter  is  also  rendered  as  “tierra  labrada,  6 camellon”  (Molina,  Parte.  I Io,  p.  26). 
It  thus  reminds  us  of  the  “ chinamit.l  ” or  garden-bed  (as  the  name  “camellon”  also  implies),  and  reduces 
it  to  the  proportion  of  an  ordinary  cultivated  lot  among  the  others  contained  within  the  area  of  the 
calpulli.  It  is  also  called  “ tlalli,”  but  that  is  the  general  name  for  soil  or  ground.  “ Tierras  o eredades 
de  particulares,  juntas  en  alguna  vega,”  is  called  “tlalmilli.”  This  decomposes  into  “tlalli”  soil  and 
“milli.”  But  “vega”  signifies  a fertile  tract  or  field,  and  thus  we  have  again  the  conception  of  com- 
munal lands,  divided  into  lots  improved  by  particular  families,  as  the  idea  of  communal  tenure  neces- 
iarily  implies. 


90  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


further  growth  thereof  by  converting,  as  we  have  seen  elsewhere,  for  the 
purpose  of  defence,  their  marshy  surroundings  into  water- sheets,  through 
the  construction  of  extensive  causeways.1  While  the  remnants  of  the  origi- 
nal ‘teepantl alii  ’ and  of  the  ‘ tlatocatlalli  ’ still  remained  visible  in  the  gar- 
dens, represented  to  us  as  purely  ornamental,  which  dotted  the  pueblo  of 
Mexico,2  the  substantial  elements  wherewith  to  fulfill  a purpose  for  which 
they  were  no  longer  adequate  had,  in  course  of  time,  to  be  drawn  from  the 
mainland.  But  it  was  not  feasible,  from  the  nature  of  tribal  condition,  to 
extend  thither  by  colonization.  The  soil  was  held  there  by  other  tribes, 
whom  the  Mexicans  might  well  overpower  and  render  tributary,  but  whom 
they  could  not  incorporate,  since  the  kinships  composing  these  tribes  could 
not  be  fused  with  their  own.  Outposts,  however,  were  established  on  the 
shores,  at  the  outlets  of  the  dykes,  at  Tepeyacac  on  the  north,  at  Iztapala- 
pan,  Mexicaltzinco,  and  at  Huitzilopoclieo  to  the  south,  but  these  were  only 
military  positions,  and  beyond  them  the  territory  proper  of  the  Mexicans 
never  extended.3  Tribute , therefore,  had  to  furnish  the  means  for  sustaining 
their  governmental  requirements  in  the  matter  ot  food,  and  the  tribute  lands 
had  to  be  distributed  and  divided,  so  as  to  correspond  minutely  to  the  details 
of  their  home  organization  For  this  reason  we  see,  after  the  overthrow  of 
the  Tecpanecas,  lands  assigned  apparently  to  the  head  war-chiefs,  to  the 
military  chiefs  of  the  quarters,  ‘from  which  to  derive  some  revenue  for  their 
maintenance  and  that  of  their  children.4  These  tracts  were  but  ‘official 
tracts,’  and  they  were  apart  from  those  reserved  for  the  special  use  of  the 
kinships.  The  latter  may  have  furnished  that  general  tribute  which,  although 


‘“Art  of  War”  (pp.  150  and  151).  L.  H.  Morgan  (“Ancient  Society,”  Part  II,  cap.  VII, pp.  190 

and  191). 

3Humboldt  (“Essai  politique  sur  la  Nouvelle  Espagne,”  Vol.  II,  Lib.  Ill,  cap.  VIII,  p.  50): 
Nearly  all  the  old  authors  describe  the  public  buildings  as  surrounded  by  pleasure-grounds  or  orna- 
mental gardens.  It  is  very  striking  that,  the  pueblo  having  been  founded  in  11125,  and  nearly  a century 
having  been  spent  in  adding  sufficient  artificial  sod  to  the  originally  small  solid  expanse  settled,  the 
Mexicans  could  have  been  ready  so  soon  to  establish  purely  decorative  parks  within  an  area,  every  inch 
of  which  was  valuable  to  them  for  subsistence  alone! 

3 The  Mexican  tribe  proper  clustered  exclusively  within  the  pueblo  of  Tenuchtitlan.  The  settle- 
ments at  Iztapalapan,  Huitzilopoclieo,  and  Mexicaltzinco  were  but  military  stations — outworks,  guarding 
the  issues  of  the  causeways  to  the  South.  Tepeyacac  (Guadalupe  Hidalgo)  was  a similar  position — 
unimportant  as  to  population — in  the  north.  Chapultepec  was  a sacred  spot,  not  inhabited  by  any  num- 
ber of  people,  and  only  held  by  the  Mexicans  for  burial  purposes,  and  on  account  of  the  springs  furnish- 
ing fresh  water  to  their  pueblo. 

4Tezozomoo  (Cap.  XV,  p.  24). 


MORGAN.] 


SIMILAR  TO  LAND  TENURES  IN  PERU. 


91 


given  nominally  to  tlie  head  war-chief,  still  was  £ for  all  the  Mexicans  in 
common.’ 

“The  various  classes  of  lands  which  we  have  mentioned  were,  as  far 
as  their  tenure  is  concerned,  included  in  the  1 2 calpulalli  ’ or  lands  of  the 
kinships.  Since  the  kin,  or  £ calpulli,’  Avas  the  unit  of  governmental  organi- 
zation, it  also  Avas  the  unit  of  landed  tenure.  Clavigero  says  : £ The  lands 
called  altepetlalli,  that  is,  those  who  belonged  to  the  communities  of  the 
towns  and  villages,  Avere  divided  into  as  many  parts  as  there  were  quarters 
in  a toAvn,  and  each  quarter  held  its  own  for  itself,  and  without  the  least 
connection  with  the  rest.  Such  lands  could  in  no  manner  be  alienated.’1 
These  ‘quarters’  were  the  ‘calpulli’;  hence  it  follows  that  the  consanguine 
groups  held  the  altepetlalli  or  soil  of  the  tribe. 

“ We  have,  therefore,  in  Mexico  the  identical  mode  of  the  tenure  of 
lands  which  Polo  de  Ondogardo  had  noted  in  Peru  and  reported  to  the 
King  of  Spain,  as  follows:  * * * ‘Although  the  crops  and  other  pro- 

duce of  these  lands  were  devoted  to  the  tribute,  the  land  itself  belonged  to 
the  people  themselves.  Hence  a thing  Avill  be  apparent  which  has  not 
hitherto  been  properly  understood.  When  any  one  wants  land,  it  is  con- 
sidered sufficient  if  it  can  be  shown  that  it  belonged  to  the  Inca  or  to  the 
sun.  But  in  this  the  Indians  are  treated  Avith  great  injustice;  for  in  those 
days  they  paid  the  tribute,  and  the  land  teas  theirs.'1 2 * * * 

“ The  expanse  held  and  occupied  by  the  calpulli,  and  therefore  called 
‘ calpulalli  ’ was  possessed  by  the  kin  in  joint  tenure.3  It  could  neither  be 


1 “ Storia  del  Messico”  (Lib.  VII,  cap.  XVI). 

2 “Narratives  of  the  Eites  and  Laws  of  the  Yncas,  translated  from  the  original  Spanish  manu- 
scripts, and  edited  by  Clement  E.  Markham.”  Publication  of  the  “Haekluyt  Society,”  1873.  “Eeport 
of  Polo  de  Ondegardo,”  who  was  “ Eegidor  ” of  Cuzco  in  15G0,  and  a very  important  authority  (see 
Prescott,  “History  of  the  Conquest  of  Peru,”  note  to  Book  I,  cap.  V).  Confirmed  by  Garcia  (“El 
Origen  de  los  Indios,”  Lib.  IV,  cai).  XVI,  p.  1G2). 

3Znrita  (“Support,”  etc.,  etc.,  p.  50) : “The  chiefs  of  the  second  class  are  yet  called  calpullec 
in  the  singirlar  and  chinancallec  in  the  plural.  (This  is  evidently  incorrect,  since  the  words  £ calpulli  ’ 
and  ‘ chinancalli  ’ can  easily  be  distinguished  from  each  other.  “ Cbinancalli,”  however,  after  Molina 
means  ‘ cercado  de  seto’  (Parte  Ila,  p.  21),  or  an  inclosed  area,  and  if  we  connect  it  with  the  old  origi- 
nal ‘ chinamitl  ’ we  are  forcibly  carried  back  to  the  early  times,  when  the  Mexicans  but  dwelt  on  a 
few  flakes  of  more  or  les§  solid  ground.  This  is  an  additional  evidence  in  favor  of  the  views  we  have 
taken  of  the  growth  of  landed  tenure  among  the  Mexican  tribe.  We  must  never  forget  that  the  term 
is  ‘ Nahuatl,’  and  as  such  recognized  by  all  the  other  tribes,  outside  of  the  Mexicans  proper.  The  inter- 
pretation as  ‘ family  ’ in  the  QQuichd  tongue  of  Guatemala,  which  we  have  already  mentioned,  turns 
up  here  as  of  further  importance  ; th.  is  chiefs  of  an  old  race  or  family,  from  the  word  calpulli  or  chi- 
nancalli, which  is  the  same,  and  signifies  a quarter  (barrio),  inhabited  by  a family  known,  or  of  old 


i )2  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


alienated  nor  sold  ; in  fact,  there  is  no  trace  of  barter  or  sale  of  land  pre- 
vious to  the  conquest.* 1  If,  however,  any  calpulli  weakened,  through  loss 
of  numbers  from  any  cause  whatever,  it  might  farm  out  its  area  to  another 
similar  group,  deriving  subsistence  from  the  rent.2  If  the  kinship  died  out, 
and  its  lands  therefore  became  vacant,  then  they  were  either  added  to  those 
of  another  whose  share  was  not  adequate  for  its  wants  or  they  were  dis- 
tributed among  all  the  remaining  calpulli.’3  The  calpulli  was  a democratic 
organization.  Its  business  lay  in  the  hands  of  elective  chiefs — ‘old  men’ 
promoted  to  that  dignity,  as  we  intend  to  prove  in  a subsequent  paper,  for 
their  merits  and  experience,  and  after  severe  religious  ordeals.  These  chiefs 
formed  the  council  of  the  kin  or  quarter,  but  their  authority  was  not  abso- 
lute, since  on  all  important  occasions  a general  meeting  of  the  kindred  was 
convened.4  The  council  in  turn  selected  an  executive,  the  ‘calpullec’  or 
‘ chinancallec,’  who  in  war  officiated  as  ‘achcacauhtin’  or  ‘teachcaulitin’ 

origin,  which,  possesses  since  long  time  a territory  whose  limits  are  known,  and  whose  members  are  of 
the  same  lineage.”  “ The  calpnllis,  families  or  quarters,  are  very  common  in  each  province.  Among  the 
lands  which  were  given  to  the  chiefs  of  the  second  class  there  were  also  calpnllis.  These  lands  are  the 
property  of  the  people  in  general  (‘de  la  masse  du  peuple’)  from  the  time  the  Indians  reached  this 
land.  Each  family  or  tribe  received  a portion  of  the  soil  for  perpetual  enjoyment.  They  also  had  the 
name  of  calpulli,  and  until  now  this  property  has  been  respected.  They  do  not  belong  to  each  inhabit- 
ant of  the  village  in  particular,  hut  to  the  calpulli,  which  possesses  them  in  common.”  Don  Ramirez 
de  Fuenleal,  letter  dated  Mexico,  3 Nov.,  1532  (“  Recueil  de  pieces,”  etc.,  Ternaux-Compans,  p.  253): 
“ There  are  very  few  people  in  the  villages  which  have  lands  of  their  own  ; * * * the  lands  are  held 

in  common  and  cultivated  in  common.”  Herrera  (Dec.  Ill,  Lib.  IV,  cap.  XV,  p.  135)  confirms,  in  a 
condensed  form,  the  statements  of  Zurita,  “ and  they  are  not  private  lands  of  each  one,  hut  held  in  com- 
mon.” Torquemada  (Lib.  XIV,  cap.  VII,  p.  545.)  Veytia  (Lib  III,  cap.  VI,  p.  196).  “ Finally,  there 

were  other  tracts  of  lands  in  each  tribe,  called  calpulalli,  which  is  land  of  the  calpules  (barrios),  which 
also  were  worked  in  common.”  Oviedo  (Lib.  XXXII,  cap.  LI,  pp.  536  and  537).  Clavigero  (Lib.  VII, 
cap.  XIV).  Bustamante  (“Tezcoco,”  etc.,  Parte  Ilia,  cap.  V.  p.  232). 

1 Zurita  (p.  52)  : “He  who  obtained  them  from  the  sovereign  has  not  the  right  to  dispose  of 
them.”  Herrera  (Dec.  Ill,  Lib.  IV,  cap.  XV,  p.  135) : “ He  who  possessed  them  could  not  alienate 
them,  although  he  enjoyed  their  use  for  his  lifetime.”  Torquemada  (Lib.  XIV,  cap.  VII,  p.  545) : 

“ Disputes  about  lands  are  frequently  mentioned,  but  they  refer  to  the  eujoyment  and  possession,  and 
not  the  transfer  of  the  land.  Baron  Humboldt  (“Vues  des  Cordilleres  et  monuments  indigenes  des 
peuples  de  l’Amdrique,”  Vol.  I,  Tab.  V)  reproduces  a Mexican  painting  representing  a litigation  about 
land.  But  this  painting  was  made  subsequent  to  the  conquest,  as  the  fact  that  the  parties  contending 
are  Indians  and  Spaniards  sufficiently  asserts.  Occasional  mention  is  made  that  certain  lands  “could 
be  sold.”  All  such  tracts,  however,  like- the  “ pallali,”  have  been  shown  by  us  to  be  held  in  communal 
tenure  of  the  soil,  their  enjoyment  alone  being  given  to  individuals  and  their  families. 

3 Zurita  (p.  93) : “In  case  of  need  it  was  permitted  to  farm  out  the  lands  of  a calpulli  to  the  in- 
habitants of  another  quarter.”  Herrera  (Dec.  Ill,  lib.  IV,  cap.  XV,  p.  134) : “ They  could  be  rented  out 
to  another  lineage.” 

3 Zurita  (p.  52):  “When  a family  dies  out,  its  lands  revert  to  the  calpulli,  and  the  chief  dis- 
tributes them  among  such  members  of  the  quarter  as  are  most  in  need  of  it.” 

4 Zurita  (pp.  60,  61,  62).  Ramirez  de  Fuenleal  (“  Letter,”  etc.,  Ternaux-Compans,  p.  249). 


MORGAN.] 


SMALLEST  SUBDIVISIONS. 


93 


(elder  brother).1  This  office  was  for  life  or  during  good  behavior.2  It  was 
one  of  his  duties  to  keep  a reckoning  of  the  soil  of  the  calpulli,  or  1 calpu- 
lalli,’  together  with  a record  of  its  members,  and  of  the  areas  assigned  to 
each  family,  and  to  note  also  whatever  changes  occurred  in  their  distribu- 
tion.3 Such  changes,  if  unimportant,  might  be  made  by  him;  more  impor- 
tant ones,  or  contested  cases,  had  to  be  referred  to  the  council  of  the  kin- 
ship, which  in  turn  often  appealed  to  a gathering  of  the  entire  quarter.4 

“The  ‘ calpulalli  ’ was  divided  into  lots  or  arable  beds,  ‘ tlalmilli.’5 
These  were  assigned  each  to  one  of  the  married  males  of  the  kinship,  to  be 
worked  by  him  for  his  use  and  that  of  his  family.  If  one  of  these  lots 
remained  unimproved  for  the  term  of  two  consecutive  years,  it  fell  back  to 
the  quarter  for  redistribution.  The  same  occurred  if  the  family  enjoying 
its  possession  removed  from  the  calpulli.  But  it  does  not  appear  that  the 
cultivation  had  always  to  be  performed  by  the  holders  of  the  tract  them- 
selves. The  fact  of  improvement  under  the  name  of  a certain  tenant  was 
only  required  to  insure  this  tenant’s  rights.6 

1 Zurita  (p.  60) : The  calpulli  have  a chief  taken  necessarily  from  among  the  tribe ; he  must  be 
one  of  the  principal  inhabitants,  an  able  mau  who  can  assist  and  defend  the  people.  The  election  takes 
place  among  them.  * * * The  office  of  this  chief  is  not  hereditary ; when  any  one  dies,  they  elect  in 

his  place  the  most  respected  old  man.  * * * If  the  deceased  has  left  a son  who  is  able  the  choice 

falls  upon  him,  and  a relative  of  the  former  incumbent  is  always  preferred”  (Id.,  pp.  50  and  222). 
Simancas  M.  S.  S.  (“  De  l’ordre  de-succession,”  etc. ; “Kecueil,”  p.  225) : As  to  the  mode  of  regulating 
the  jurisdiction  and  election  of  the  alcaldes  and  regidors  of  the  villages,  they  nominated  men  of  note 
who  had  the  title  of  achcacaulitin.  * * * There  were  no  other  elections  of  officers.”  * * * “Art 

of  War,”  etc.  (pp.  119  and  120). 

'-Zurita  (pp.  60  and  61).  Herrera  (Dec.  Ill,  Lib.  IV,  cap.  XV,  cap.  125) : “ I le  elegian  entresi  y 
tenian  por  maior.” 

3 Zurita  (pp.  61  and  62)  : “This  chief  has  charge  of  the  lands  of  the  calpulli.  It  is  his  duty  to 
defend  their  possession.  He  keeps  paintings  showing  the  tracts,  the  names  of  their  holders,  the  situa- 
tion, the  limits,  the  number  of  men  tilling  them,  the  wealth  of  private  individuals,  the  designations  of 
such  as  are  vacant,  of  others  that  belong  to  the  Spaniards,  the  date  of  donation,  to  whom  and  by  whom 
they  were  given.  These  paintings  he  constantly  renews,  according  to  the  changes  occurring,  and  in 
this  they  are  very  skillful.”  It  is  singular  that  Motolinia,  in  his  “Epistola  proemial”  (“Col.  de  Doc.”  ; 
Icazbalceta,  Vol.  I,  p.  5),  among  the  live  “ books  of  paintings”  which  he  says  tho  Mexicans  had,  makes 
no  mention  of  the  above.  Neither  does  he  notice  it  in  his  letter  dated  Cholula,  27  Aug.,  1554  (“Eecueil 
de  xneces,”  etc.,  Ternaux-Compans). 

4 Zurita  “Rapport,”  etc.,  pp.  56  and  62).  We  quote  him  in  preference,  since  no  other  author 
known  to  us  has  been  so  detailed. 

5 “Tlalmilli”  “tierras,  d heredades  de  particulares,  que  estan  juntas  en  alguna  vega”  (Molina, 
Part  lie,  p.  124). 

e Each  family,  represented  by  its  male  head,  obtained  a certain  tract  or  lot  for  cultivation  and 
use,  Zurita  (p.  55).  “The  party  (member  of  the  calpulli,  because  no  member  of  another  one  had  the 
right  to  settle  within  the  area  of  it — see  Id.,  p.  53),  who  has  no  lands  applies  to  the  chief  of  the  cal- 
pulli, who,  upon  the  advice  of  the  other  old  men,  assigns  to  him  such  as  corresponds  to  his  ability  and 
wants.  These  lands  go  to  his  heirs.”  * * * Id.,  p.  56).  “The  proprietor  who  did  not  cultivate 

during  two  years,  either  through  his  own  fault  or  through  negligence,  without  just  cause,  * * * ho 


94  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OP  THE  AM  EE  IC  AN  ABORIGINES. 


“Therefore  the  chiefs  and  their  families,  although  they  could  not,  from 
the  nature  of  their  duties,  till  the  land  themselves,  still  could  remain  entitled 
to  their  share  of  ‘ tlalmilpa  ’ as  members  of  the  calpulli.  Such  tracts  were 
cultivated  by  others  for  their  use.  They  were  called  by  the  specific  name 
of  ‘ pillali  ’ (lands  of  the  chiefs  or  of  the  children,  from  ‘ piltontli,’  boy,  or 
‘ piltzintli,’  child),  and  those  who  cultivated  them  carried  the  appellation  of 
‘ tlalmaitT — hands  of  the  soil.1 

“The  ‘tlalmilpa,’  whether  held  by  chiefs  or  by  ordinary  members  of 
the  kin  (‘macehuales’),  were,  therefore,  the  only  tracts  of  land  possessed  for 
use  by  individuals  in  ancient  Mexico.  They  were  so  far  distinguished  from 
the  ‘ tecpantlalli ’ and  ‘tlatocatlalli’  in  their  mode  of  tenure  as,  whereas  the 

latter  two  were  dependent  from  a certain  office,  the  incumbent  of  which 

« 

changed  at  each  election,  the  ‘tlalmilli’  was  assigned  to  a certain  family, 
and  its  possession,  therefore,  connected  with  customs  of  inheritance. 

“Being-  thus  led  to  investigate  the  customs  of  Inheritance  of  the 
ancient  Mexicans,  we  have  to  premise  here,  that  the  personal  effects  of  a 
deceased  -can  be  but  slightly  considered.  The  rule  was,  in  general,  that 
whatever  a man  held  descended  to  his  offspring.2  Among  most  of  the 

was  called  upon  to  improve  them,  and  if  he  failed  to  do  so  they  were  given  to  another  the  following 
year.”  Bustamante  (Tezcooo,  etc.,  Parte  Ilia,  p.  190,  cap  I) : “The  fact  that  any  holder  of  a ‘ tlal- 
milli ’ might  rent  out  his  share,  if  he  himself  was  occupied  in  a line  precluding  him  from  actual  work 
ou  it,  results  from  the  lands  of  the  ‘ calpulli’ being  represented  alternately  treated  as  communal  and 
again  as  private  lands.  Besides,  it  is  said  of  the  traders  who,  from  the  nature  of  their  occupat  ion,  were 
mostly  absent,  that  they  were  also  members  and  participants  of  a ‘ calpulli  ’ (Zurita,  p.  223.  Sahagun, 
Lib.  VIII,  cap  III,  p.  349):  “Now,  as  every  Mexican  belonged  to  a kinship,  which  held  lands  after  the 
plan  exposed  above,  it  follows  that  such  as  were  not  able  to  work  themselves,  on  account  of  their  per- 
forming other  duties  subservient  to  the  interests  of  the  community,  still  preserved  their  tracts  by  having 
others  to  work  them  for  their  benefit.  It  was  not  the  right  of  tenancy  which  authorizes  the  improve- 
ment, but  the  fact  of  improvem  ent  for  a certain  purpose  and  benefit,  which  secured  the  possession  or 
tenancy.” 

' Prom  “ tlalli  ” soil,  and  “ maiti’  hand.  Hands  of  the  soil.  Molina  (Parte  II«,  p.  124)  has: 
“tlahnaitl” — “labrador,  6 ganan.”  This  name  is  given  in  distinction  of  the  “ macehuales  ” or  people 
working  the  soil  in  general.  The  tlalmaites  are  identical  with  the  “mayeques.”  (See  Zurita,  p.  224) : 
“ tlalmaites  or  mayeques,  which  signifies  tillers  of  the  soil  of  others.”  * * * He  distinguishes  them 

plainly  from  the  “teccallec,”  which  are  the  “tecpanpouhque”  or  “ tecpantlaca ” formerly  mentioned 
as  attending  to  a class  of  official  lands  (p.  221,  Zurita).  Herrera  (Dec.  Ill,  Lib.  IV,  cap.  XVII,  p.  138) : 
“These  mayeques  could  not  go  from  oue  tract  to  another,  neither  leave  those  whichthey  cultivated,  and 
they  paid  a rent  to  its  masters  according  as  they  agreed  upon  (‘  en  lo  que  se  concertaban’)  in  what  they 
raised.  They  paid  tribute  to  nobody  else  but  the  master  of  the  land.”  This  tends  to  show  that  there 
existed  not  an  established  obligation,. a serfdom,  but  a voluntary  contract,  that  the  “tlalmaites’  were 
not  serfs,  but  simply  renters. 

2Motolinia  (Tratado  II,  cap.  V,  p.  120):  “But  they  left  their  houses  and  lands  to  their  chil- 
dren . . .”  Gomara  (p.  434) : “ Es  costumbre  de  pecheros  que  el  hijo  mayor  lierede  al  padre  en  toda 

la  hacienda  raiz  y mueble,  y que  tenga  y mantcnga  todos  los  hermanos  y sobrinos,  con  tal  que  hagan 


MORGAN.] 


IN  MEXICO  MALES  INHERITED. 


95 


northern  Indians  a large  cluster  participated.* 1  In  conformity  with  the  or- 
ganization of  society  based  upon  kin,  when  in  the  first  stage  of  its  devel- 
opment, the  kindred  group  inherited,  and  the  common  ancestor  of  this  kin 
being  considered  a female,  it  follows  that  if  a man  died,  not  his  children, 
still  less  his  wife,  but  his  mother’s  descendants,  that  is,  his  brothers,  sisters, 
in  fact  the  entire  consanguine  relationship  from  which  lie  derived  on  his 
mother’s  side,  were  his  heirs.2  Such  may  have  been  the  case  even  among 
the  Muysca  of  New  Granada.3  It  was  different,  however,  in  Mexico,  where 
we  meet  with  traces  of  a decided  progress.  Not  only  had  descent  been 
changed  to  the  male  line,4  but  heirship  was  limited,  to  the  exclusion  of  the 
kin  and  of  the  agnates  themselves,  to  the  children  of  the  male  sex.5  What- 
ever personal  effects  a father  left,  which  were  not  offered  up  in  sacrifice  at 
the  ceremonies  of  his  funeral,6  they  were  distributed  among  his  male  off- 

ellos  lo  que  el  les  mandare.”  Clavigero  (Lib.  VII,  cap.  XIII) : “In  Mexico,  and  nearly  the  entire  realm, 
the  royal  family  excepted  as  already  told,  the  sons  succeeded  to  the  father’s  rights;  and  if  there  were 
no  sons,  then  the  brothers,  and  the  brothers’  sons  inherited.”  Bustamante  (“Tezcoco,”  etc.,  p.  219) : 
In  all  these  cases,  Bustamante  only  speaks  of  chiefs;  hut  the  quotations  from  Motolinia  and  Gomara 
directly  apply  to  the  people  in  general. 

1 Mr.  L.  H.  Morgan  has  investigated  the  customs  of  inheritance,  not  only  among  the  northern 
Indians,  but  also  among  the  pueblo  Indians  of  New  Mexico.  He  establishes  the  fact,  that  the  “kin- 
ship” or  “gens,”  which  we  may  justly  consider  as  the  unit  of  organization  in  American  aboriginal 
society,  participated  in  the  property  of  the  deceased.  He  proves  it  among  the  Iroquois  (“Ancient  So- 
ciety,” Part  II,  cap.  II,  pp.  75  and  7fi).  Wyandottes,  Id.,  cap.  VII,  p.  153.  Missouri-tribes,  p.  155. 
Winnebagoes,  p.  157.  Maudans,  p.  158.  Minnitarees,  p.  159.  Creeks,  p.  161.  Choctas,  p.  162.  Chick- 
asas,  p.  163.  Ojibwas,  p.  167 ; also  Potowattomies  and  Crees,  Miamis,  p.  168.  Shawnees,  p.  169. 
Sauks,  Foxes,  and  Menominies,  p.  170.  Delawares,  p.  172.  Munsees  and  Mohegans,  p.  173.  Finally, 
the  pueblo  Indians  of  New  Mexico  are  shown  to  have,  if  not  the  identical  at  least  a similar  mode  of 
inheritance.  It  would  be  easy  to  secure  further  evidence,  from  South  America  also. 

2 “Ancient  Society”  (Part  II,  cap.  II,  p.  75 ; Part  IV,  cap.  I,  pp.  528,  530,  531,  536,  and  537). 

3 Gomara  (“Historia  de  las  Indios,”  Yedia  I,  p.  201).  Garcia  (“Origen  de  los  Indies,”  Lib.  IV, 
cap.  23,  p.  247).  Piedrahita  (Parte  1,  Lib.  I,  cap.  5,  p.  27).  Joaquin  Acosta  (“Compeudio  historico  del 
Descumbrimiento  y Colonisazion  de  laNueva-Granada,”  Cap.  XI,  p.  201).  Ternaux-Compans  (“L’ancien 
Cnndinamarca,”  pp.  21  and  38). 

4 Motolinia  (Trat.  II,  cap.  V,  p.  120).  Gomara  (p.  434).  Clavigero  (Lib.  VII,  cap.  XIII).  Zurita 
(pp.  12  and  43). 

5Letter  of  Motolinia  and  Diego  d’Olarte,  to  Don  Luis  de  Velasco,  Cholula,  27  Aug.,  1554  (“Ke- 
cueil,”  etc.,  etc.,  p.  407) : “The  daughters  did  not  inherit;  it  was  the  principal,  wife’s  son  . . . .’ 

Besides,  nearly  every  author  designates  but  a son,  or  sons,  as  the  heirs.  There  is  no  mention  made  of 
daughters  at  all.  In  Tlaxcallan,  it  is  also  expressly  mentioned  that  the  daughters  did  not.  inherit  (Tor- 
quemada,  Lib.  XI,  cap.  XXII,  p.  348).  Iu  general,  the  position  of  woman  in  ancient  Mexico  was  a very 
inferior  one,  and  but  little  above  that  which  it  occupies  among  Indians  iu  general.  (Compare  the 
description  of  Gomara,  p.  440,  Vedia  I,  with  those  of  Sahagun.  Lib.  X,  cap.  I,  p.  1 ; cap.  XIII,  pp. 
30,  31,  32,  and  33.  The  fact  is  generally  conceded).  H.  II.  Bancroft,  “Native  Faces,”  Vol.  II,  cap. 
VI,  p.  224,  etc. 

6 Motolinia  (Trat,  II,  cap.  V,  p.  120).  Torquemada  (Lib.  XIII,  cap.  XLII  to  XL VIII,  pp.  515  to 
529).  Acosta  (Lib.  V,  cap.  VIII,  pp.  320,321,  and  322).  Gomara  (pp.  436  and 437,  Vedia,  I).  Mendicta 
(Lib.  II,  cap.  XL,  pp.  162  and  163).  Clavigero  (Lib.  VI,  cap.  XXXIX).  “They  burnt  the  clothes,  ar- 
rows, and  a portion  of  the  household  utensils  . ” 


96  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


springs,  and  if  there  were  none,  they  went  to  his  brothers.  Females  held 
nothing  whatever,  beyond  their  wearing  apparel  and  some  few  ornaments 
for  personal  use. 

“The  ‘tlalmilli’  itself,  at  the  demise  of  a father,  went  to  his  oldest  son, 
with  the  obligation  to  improve  it  for  the  benefit  of  the  entire  family  until 
the  other  children  had  been  disposed  of  by  marriage1  But  the  other  males 
could  apply  to  the  chief  of  the  calpulli  for  a ‘tlalmilli’  of  their  own;2  the 
females  went  with  their  husbands.  Single  blessedness,  among  the  Mexi- 
cans, appears  to  have  occurred  only  in  case  of  religious  vows,  and  in  which 
case  the}T  fell  back  for  subsistence  upon  the  part  allotted  to  worship,  or  in 
case  of  great  infirmities,  for  which  the  calpulli  provided.3  No  mention  is 
made  of  the  widow  participating  in  the  products  of  the  ‘tlalmilli,’  still  it  is 
presumable  that  she  was  one  of  those  whom  the  oldest  son  had  to  support. 
There  are  indications  that  the  widow  could  remarry,  in  which  case  her  hus- 
band, of  course,  provided  for  her. 

“The  customs  of  Inheritance,  as  above  reported,  were  the  same  with 
chiefs  as  well  as  with  the  ordinary  members  of  the  tribe.  Of  the  personal 
effects  very  little  remained,  since  the  higher  the  office  was  which  the  de- 
ceased had  held,  the  more  display  was  made  at  his  cremation,  and  conse- 
quently the  more  of  his  dresses,  weapons,  and  ornaments  were  burnt  with  the 
body.  Of  lands,  the  chiefs  only  held  each  their  ‘tlalmilli’  in  the  usual  way, 
as  members  of  their  kin,  whereas  the  other  ‘official’  lots  went  to  the  new 
incumbents  of  the  offices.  It  should  always  be  borne  in  mind  that  none 
of  these  offices  were  hereditary  themselves.  Still,  a certain  ‘right  of  suc- 
cession’ is  generally  admitted  as  having  existed.  Thus,  with  the  Tezcucans, 
the  office  of  head  war-chief  might  pass  from  father  to  son,4  at  Mexico  from 

'Gomara  (“G'onq.  tie  Mejico,  p.  434):  “It  is  customary  among  tributary  classes  that  the  oldest 
son  shall  inherit  the  father’s  property,  real  and  personal,  and  shall  maintain  and  support  all  the  brothers 
and  nephews,  provided  they  do  what  he  commands  them.  The  reason  why  they  do  not  partition  the 
estates  is  in  order  not  to  decrease  it  through  such  a partition  . ” Simancas  M.  S.  S.  (“  Ke- 

cueil,”  etc.,  etc.,  p.  224) : “Relative  to  the  calpulalli  ....  the  sons  mostly  inherited.” 

2 Zurita  (p.  55) : “He  who  has  no  land  applies  to  the  chief  of  the  tribe  (calpulli),  who,  upon  the 
advice  of  the  other  old  men,  assigns  to  him  a tract  suitable  for  his  wants,  and  corresponding  to  his  abil- 
ities and  to  his  strength.”  Herrera  (Dec.  Ill,  Lib.  IY,  cap.  XV,  p.  135). 

3 Such  unmarried  females  were  the  “nuns”  frequently  mentioned  by  the  old  writers.  We  shall 
have  occasion  to  investigate  the  point  in  our  paper  on  “ The  ancient  Mexican  priesthood.”  As  attend- 
ants to  worship,  they  participated  in  the  tributes  furnished  towards  it  by  each  calpulli,  of  which  we 
have  spoken. 

4 Zurita  (p.  12).  Gomara  (Vcdial,  p.  434).  Torquemada  (Lib.  IX,  cap.  IV,  p.  177;  Lib.  XI, 
cap.  27,  p.  356,  etc.  etc.). 


MORGAN.] 


CONCLUSIONS  CONCERNING  MEXICAN  OWNERSHIP. 


07 


brother  to  brother,  and  from  uncle  to  nephew.1  This  might,  eventually, 
have  tended  to  perpetuate  the  office  in  the  family , and  with  it  also  the  pos- 
session of  certain  lands,  attached  to  that  officer’s  functions  and  duties.  But 
it  is  quite  certain  too  that  this  stage  of  development  had  not  yet  been 
reached  by  any  of  the  tribes  of  Mexico  at  the  time  of  its  conquest  by  the 
Spaniards.  The  principal  idea  had  not  yet  been  developed,  namely,  that  of 
the  domain , which,  in  eastern  countries  at  least,  gradually  segregated  into 
individually  hereditary  tenures  and  ownerships. 

“ Out  of  the  scanty  remains  thus  left  of  certain  features  of  aboriginal 
life  in  ancient  Mexico,  as  well* as  out  of  the  conflicting  statements  about 
that  country’s  early  history,  we  have  now  attempted  to  reconstruct  the  con- 
ceptions of  the  Mexican  aborigines  about  tenure  of  lands,  as  well  as  their 
manner  of  distribution  thereof.  Our  inquiries  seem  to  justify  the  following 
conclusions : 

“1.  The  notion  of  abstract  ownership  of  the  soil,  either  by  a nation 
or  state,  or  by  the  head  of  its  government,  or  by  individuals,  was  unknown 
to  the  ancient  Mexicans. 

“2.  Definite  possessory  right  was  vested  in  the  kinships  composing  the 
tribe;  but  the  idea  of  sale,  barter,  or  conveyance  or  alienation  of  such  by 
the  kin  had  not  been  conceived. 

“3.  Individuals,  whatever  might  be  their  position  or  office,  without  any 
exception,  held  but  the  right  to  use  certain  defined  lots  for  their  sustenance, 
which  right,  although  hereditary  in  the  male  line,  was  nevertheless  limited 
to  the  conditions  of  residence  within  the  area  held  by  the  kin,  and  of  culti- 
vation either  by  or  in  the  name  of  him  to  whom  the  said  lots  were  assigned. 

“4.  No  possessory  rights  to  land  were  attached  to  any  office  or  chief- 
taincy. As  members  of  a kin,  each  chief  had  the  use  of  a certain  lot,  which 
he  could  rent  or  farm  to  others,  for  his  benefit. 

“5.  For  the  requirements  of  tribal  business,  and  of  the  governmental 
features  of  the  kinships  (public  hospitality  included),  certain  tracts  were 
set  apart  as  official  lands,  out  of  which  the  official  households  were  supplied 
and  sustained;  but  these  lands  and  their  products  were  totally  independent 
from  the  persons  or  families  of  the  chiefs  themselves. 

1 This  fact  is  too  amply  proven  to  need  special  references.  We  reserve  it  for  final  discussion  in 
our  proposed  paper  on  the  chiefs  of  the  Mexicans,  and  the  duties,  powers  and  functions  of  their  office. 

7 


98  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OE  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


‘‘6.  Conquest  of  any  tribe  by  the  Mexicans  was  not  followed  by  an 
annexation  of  that  tribe’s  territory,  nor  by  an  apportionment  of  its  soil 
among  the  conquerors.  Tribute  was  exacted,  and,  for  the  purpose  of  raising 
that  tribute  (in  part),  special  tracts  were  set  off;  the  crops  of  which  were 
gathered  for  t-lie  storehouses  of  Mexico. 

“7.  Consequently,  as  our  previous  investigations  (of  the  warlike  insti- 
tutions and  customs  of  the  ancient  Mexicans)  have  disproved  the  generally 
received  notion  of  a military  despotism  prevailing  among  them,  so  the 
results  of  his  review  of  Tenure  and  distribution  of  lands  .tend  to  establish 
‘that  the  principle  and  institution  of  feudality  did  not  exist  in  aboriginal 
Mexico.”’ 

Among  the  Peruvians  their  land  system  was  probably  much  the  same 
as  among  the  ancient  Mexicans.  But  according  to  Garcilapo  de  la  Vega, 
they  had  carried  their  system  with  respect  to  lands  a little  farther.  Their 
lands,  he  remarks,  were  “divided  into  three  parts  and  applied  to  different 
uses.  The  first  was  for  the  Sun,  his  priests  and  ministers;  the  second  was 
for  the  King,  and  for  the  support  and  maintenance  of  his  governors  and 
officers.  * * * And  the  third  was  for  the  natives  and  sojourners  of  the 

provinces,  which  was  divided  equally  according  to  the  needs  which  each 
family  required.”1 

While  these  several  statements  may  not  present  the  exact  case  in  all 
respects  in  Peru,  Mexico,  or  among  the  Northern  Indian  tribes,  they  suf- 
ficiently indicate  the  ownership  of  land  by  communities  of  persons,  larger 
or  smaller,  with  a system  of  tillage  that  points  to  large  households.  Neither 
the  Peruvians,  nor  the  Aztecs,  nor  any  Indian  tribe  had  attained  to  a knowl- 
edge of  the  ownership  of  land  in  severalty  in  fee  simple  at  the  period  of 
their  discovery.  This  knowledge  belongs  to  the  period  of  civilization.  There 
is  not  the  slightest  probability  that  any  Indian,  whether  Iroquois,  Mexican, 
or  Peruvian,  owned  a foot  of  land  that  he  could  call  his  own,  with  power  to 
sell  and  convey  the  same  in  fee  simple  to  whomsoever  he  pleased. 

1Eoyal  Commentaries  of  Peru,  Lond.  ed.,  1688.  Eycaut,  trans.,  p.  154. 


MORGAN.] 


ONE  PREPARED  MEAL  EACH  HAY. 


99 


THE  CUSTOM  OF  HAYING  BUT  ONE  PREPARED  MEAL  EACH  DAY— A DINNER— AND 

THEIR  SEPARATION  AT  MEALS,  THE  MEN  EATING  FIRST,  AND  THE  WOMEN  AND 

CHILDREN  AFTERWARDS. 

This  was  the  usage  among  the  Indian  tribes  in  the  Lower  Status  of  bar- 
barism. In  the  Middle  Status  there  seems  to  have  been  more  method  and 
regularity  of  life,  but  no  change  in  their  customs  with  respect  to  food,  so 
marked  in  character  that  we  are  forced  to  recognize  a new  plan  of  domes- 
tic life  among  them.  The  Iroquois  had  but  one  cooked  meal  each  day.  It 
was  as  much  as  their  resources  and  organization  for  housekeeping  could 
furnish,  and  was  as  much  as  they  needed.  It  was  prepared  and  served 
usually  before  the  noon -day  hour,  ten  or  eleven  o’clock,  and  may  be  called 
a dinner.  At  this  time  the  principal  cooking  for  the  day  was  done.  After 
its  division  at  the  kettle,  among  the  members  of  the  household,  it  was  served 
warm  to  each  person  in  earthen  or  wooden  bowls.  They  had  neither  tables, 
nor  chairs,  nor  plates,  in  our  sense,  nor  any  room  in  the  nature  of  a kitchen 
or  a dining  room,  but  ate  each  by  himself,  sitting  or  standing,  and  where 
most  convenient  to  the  person.  They  also  separated  as  to  the  time  of  eat- 
ing, the  men  eating  first  and  by  themselves,  and  the  women  and  children 
afterwards  and  by  themselves.  That  which  remained  was  reserved  for  any 
member  of  the  household  when  hungry.  Towards  evening  the  women 
cooked  hominy,  the  maize  having  been  pounded  into  bits  the  size  of  a 
kernel  of  rice,  which  was  boiled  and  put  aside  to  be  used  cold  as  a lunch 
in  the  morning  or  evening,  and  for  the  entertainment  of  visitors.  They 
had  neither  a formal  breakfast  nor  a supper  Each  person,  when  hungry, 
ate  of  whatever  food  the  house  contained.  They  were  moderate  eaters. 
This  is  a fair  picture  of  Indian  life  in  general  in  America,  when  discovered. 
After  intercourse  commenced  with  whites,  the  Iroquois  gradually  began  to 
adopt  our  mode  of  life,  but  very  slowly.  One  of  the  difficulties  was  to 
change  the  old  usage  and  accustom  themselves  to  eat  together.  It  came  in 
by  degrees,  first  with  the  breaking  up  of  the  old  plan  of  living  together  in 
numbers  in  the  old  long-houses,  and  with  the  substitution  of  single  houses 
for  each  family,  which  ended  communism  and  living  in  the  large  household, 
and  substituted  the  subsistence  of  a single  family  through  individual  effort. 
After  many  years  came  the  use  of  the  table  and  chairs  among  the  more 


100  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE  LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


advanced  families  of  the  Iroquois  tribes.  There  are  still  upon  the  Iroquois 
reservations  in  this  State  many  log  houses  or  cabins  with  but  a single  room 
on  the  ground  floor,  and  a loft  above,  with  neither  a table  or  chair  in  their 
scanty  furniture.  A portion  of  them  still  live  very  much  in  the  old  style, 
with  perhaps  two  regular  meals  daily  instead  of  one.  That  they  have  made 
tins  much  of  change  in  the  course  of  two  centuries  must  be  accounted 
remarkable,  for  they  have  been  compelled,  so  to  speak,  to  jump  one  entire 
ethnical  period,  without  the  experience  or  training  of  so  many  intervening 
generations,  and  without  the  brain-growth  such  a change  of  the  plan  of 
domestic  life  implies,  when  reached  through  natural  individual  experience 
There  is  a tradition  still  current  among  the  Seneca-Iroquois,  if  the  memory 
of  so  recent  an  occurrence  may  be  called  traditional,  that  when  the  propo- 
sition that  man  and  wife  should  eat  together,  which  was  so  contrary  to  im- 
memorial usage,  was  first  determined  in  the  affirmative,  it  was  formally 
agreed  that  man  and  wife  should  sit  down  together  at  the  same  dish  and 
eat  with  the  same  ladle,  the  man  eating  first  and  then  the  woman,  and  so 
alternately  until  the  meal  was  finished. 

The  testimony  of  such  writers  as  have  noticed  the  house-life  of  the 
Indian  tribes  is  not  uniform  in  respect  to  the  number  of  meals  a day.  Thus 
Catlin  remarks,  “As  I have  before  observed,  these  men  (the  Mandans) 
generally  eat  but  twice  a day,  and  many  times  not  more  than  once,  and 
these  meals  are  light  and  simple  * * * The  North  American  Indians, 

taking  them  in  the  aggregate,  even  when  they  have  an  abundance  to  sub- 
sist on,  eat  less  than  any  civilized  population  of  equal  numbers  that  I have 
ever  travelled  among.”1  And  Heckewekler,  speaking  of  the  Delawares  and 
other  tribes,  says:  “They  commonly  make  two  meals  every  day,  which  they 
say  is  enough.  If  any  one  should  feel  hungry  between  meal-times,  there 
is  generally  something  in  the  house  ready  for  him.2  Adair  contents  himself 
with  stating  of  the  Chocta  and  Cherokee  tribes  that  “they  have  no  stated 
meal  time.”3  There  was  doubtless  some  variation  in  different  localities,  and 
even  in  the  same  household;  but  as  a general  rule,  from  what  is  known  of 


1 North.  American  Indians,  Philadelphia  ed.,  1857,  i,  20:!. 

2 Indian  Nations,  193. 

3 History  of  the  American  Indian,  Lond.  ed.,  1775,  p.  17. 


MORGAN.] 


SAME  AMONG  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


101 


tlieir  mode  of  life,  one  prepared  meal  each  day  expresses  very  nearly  all 
the  people  in  this  condition  of  society  can  do  for  the  sustenance  of  mankind. 

Although  the  sedentary  Village  Indians  were  one  ethnical  period  in 
advance  of  the  Northern  Indians,  there  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  their 
mode  of  life  in  this  respect  was  substantially  the  same.  Among  the  Aztecs 
or  ancient  Mexicans  a dinner  was  provided  about  midday,  but  we  have  no 
satisfactory  account  of  a breakfast  or  a supper  habitually  and  regularly 
prepared.  Civilization,  with  its  diversified  industries,  its  multiplied  prod- 
ucts, and  its  monogamian  family,  affords  a breakfast  and  supper  in  addi- 
tion to  a dinner.  It  is  doubtful  whether  they  are  older  than  civilization ; 
and  even  if  they  can  be  definitely  traced  backward  into  the  older  period  of 
barbarism,  there  is  little  probability  of  their  being  found  in  the  Middle 
period.  Clavigero  attempts  to  invest  the  Aztecs  with  a breakfast,  but  he 
was  unable  to  find  any  evidence  of  a supper.  “ After  a few  hours  of  labor 
in  the  morning,”  he  observes,  “ they  took  their  breakfast,  which  was  most 
commonly  atolli,  a gruel  of  maize,  and  their  dinner  after  midday ; but 
among  all  the  historians  we  can  find  no  mention  of  their  supper.”1  The 
“ gruel  of  maize”  here  mentioned  as  forming  usually  the  Aztec  breakfast 
suggests  the  “hominy  of  the  Iroquois,”  which,  like  it,  was  not  unlikely  kept 
constantly  prepared  in  every  Mexican  house  as  a lunch  for  the  hungry. 
Two  meals  each  day  are  mentioned  by  other  Spanish  authors,  but  as  the 
Aztecs,  as  well  as  the  tribes  in  Yucatan  and  Central  America,  were  ignorant 
of  the  use  of  tables  and  chairs  in  eating  their  food,  divided  their  food  from 
the  kettle,  placing  the  dinner  of  each  person  usually  in  a separate  bowl,  and 
separated  at  their  meals,  the  men  eating  first  and  by  themselves,  and  the 
women  and  children  afterwards,  this  similarity  of  usage  renders  it  proba- 
ble they  were  not  far  removed  from  the  Iroquois  in  respect  to  the  time  and 
manner  of  taking  their  food  Montezuma’s  dinner,  witnessed  by  Bernal- 
I )iaz  and  others,  and  elaborately  described  by  a number  of  authors,  shows 
that  the  Aztecs  had  a smoking  hot  dinner  each  day,  prepared  regularly, 
and  on  a scale  adequate  to  a large  household;  that  the  dinner  of  each  per- 
son was  placed  in  one  bowl,  and  all  these  bowls  to  the  number  of  several 
hundred  were  brought  in  and  set  down  together  upon  the  floor  of  one  room, 


History  of  Mexico,  ii,  262. 


102  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 

where  they  were  taken  up  one  by  one  by  the  male  members  of  the  house- 
hold, and  the  contents  eaten  sitting  down  upon  the  floor  or  standing  in  the 
open  court,  as  best  suited  them.  The  breakfast  that  preceded  it,  and  the 
supper  that  follows,  are  not  mentioned,  from  which  we  infer  that  there  was 
neither  a breakfast  nor  a supper  for  these  inquisitive  observers  to  see. 
Neither  is  the  subsequent  dinner  of  the  women  and  children  of  the  house- 
hold mentioned,  from  which  it  may  be  inferred  that  as  the  men  ate  their 
dinner  first  in  a particular  hall  by  themselves,  the  women  and  children  took 
their  dinner  later  in  another  hall,  not  seen  by  the  Spaniards. 

In  the  accounts  of  Montezuma’s  dinner  a cook-house  or  kitchen  is  men- 
tioned, in  which  the  dinner  for  the  large  household  of  the  “ Tecpan”  or 
“official  house,”  so  fully  explained  above  by  Mr.  Bandelier,  was  prepared. 
This  kitchen,  and  the  use  of  another  room,  where  the  bowls  containing  the 
dinner  of  each  person  separately  were  set  down  on  the  floor  in  a mass  by 
themselves — an  incipient  dining-room — make  their  first  appearance  in  the 
Middle  Status  of  barbarism.  But,  as  will  be  noticed,  they  are  but  rude 
realizations  of  the  kitchen  and  dining-room  of  civilized  man.  The  pueblo 
houses  in  Yucatan  and  Chiapas,  now  in  ruins,  are  without  chimneys,  from 
which  it  mav  be  inferred  that  no  cooking-  was  done  within  them.  At  Uxmal 
we  recognize  in  the  Governor’s  House  the  Tecpan  or  official-house,  and  in 
the  House  of  the  Nuns,  and  other  structures  which  formed  the  .pueblo,  the 
joint-tenement  houses  in  which  the  body  of  the  tribe  resided.  If  the  truth 
of  the  matter  is  ever  ascertained,  it  will  probably  be  found  that  the  dinner 
for  each  household  group,  consisting  of  several  families,  was  prepared  in  a 
common  cook-house  outside  of  the  main  structure,  and  that  it  was  divided 
at  the  kettle  to  the  individuals  of  each  household. 

The  separation  of  the  sexes  at  their  meals  has  been  sufficiently  referred 
to  among  the  Iroquois.  Robertson  states  the  usage  as  general:  “They 
must  approach  their  lords  with  reverence;  they  must  regard  them  as  more 
exalted  beings,  and  are  not  permitted  to  eat  in  their  presence  ”1  Catlin 
the  same:  “These  women,  however,  although  graceful  and  civil,  and  ever 
so  beautiful,  or  ever  so  hungry,  are  not  allowed  to  sit  in  the  same  group 
with  the  men  while  at  their  meals.  So  far  as  I have  yet  travelled  in  the 


History  of  America,  New  York  eel.,  1856, 178. 


MORGAN.] 


AMONG  NORTHERN  TRIBES. 


103 


Indian  country,  I have  never  seen  an  Indian  woman  eating  with  her  hus- 
band. Men  form  the  first  group  at  the  banquet,  and  women  and  children 
and  dogs  all  come  together  at  the  next..”1  And  Adair  “for  the  men  feast  by 
themselves  and  the  women  eat  the  remains.”2  Herrera  remarks  that  “the 
woman  of  Yucatan  are  rather  larger  than  the  Spanish,  and  generally  have 
o-ood  faces,  * * * but  they  would  formerly  be  drunk  at  their  festivals, 

though  they  did  eat  apart”3  And  Sahagun,  speaking  ot  the  ceremony  of 
baptism  among  the  Aztecs,  observes  that  “to  the  women,  who  ate  apart, 
they  did  not  give  cacao  to  drink.”4  With  these  general  references  to  the 
universality  of  the  practice  on  the  part  of  the  men  of  eating  first,  and 
leaving  the  women  and  children  to  come  afterwards,  according  to  the  man- 
ners  of  barbarism,  we  leave  the  subject.  


1 North  American  Indians,  i,  202. 
3 History  of  America,  iv,  175. 


2 History  of  the  American  Indians,  p.  140. 
4 Historia  General,  lib.  iv,  36. 


CHAPTER  V. 


HOUSES  OF  INDIAN  TRIBES  NORTH  OF  NEW  MEXICO. 

The  growth  ot  the  idea  ot  house  architecture  in  general  is  a subject 
more  comprehensive  than  the  scope  of  this  volume.  But  there  is  one  phase 
ot  this  giowth,  illustrating  as  it  does  the  condition  of  society  and  of  the 
family  in  savagery  and  in  barbarism,  to  which  attention  will  be  invited. 
It  is  found  in  the  domestic  architecture  ot  the  American  aborigines  con- 
sidered  as  a whole,  and  as  parts  of  one  system.  As  a sj^stem  it  stands 
1 elated  to  the  institutions,  usages,  and  customs  presented  in  the  previous 
chapters.  There  is  not  only  abundant  evidence  in  the  collective  architec- 
ture of  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  gradual  development  of  this  great  faculty 
or  aptitude  of  the  human  mind  among  them,  through  three  ethnical  periods, 
but  the  structures  themselves,  or  a knowledge  of  them,  remain  for  com- 
parison with  each  other.  A comparison  will  show  that  they  belong  to  a 
common  indigenous  system  of  architecture.  There  is  a common  principle 
1 mining  thiough  all  this  architecture,  from  the  hut  of  the  savage  to  the 
commodious  joint-tenement  house  of  the  Village  Indians  of  Mexico  and 
Central  America,  which  will  contribute  to  its  elucidation. 

I lie  indigenous  aichitecture  of  the  A illage  Indians  has  given  to  them, 
more  than  aught  else,  their  position  in  the  estimation  of  mankind.  The 
facts  ot  their  social  condition  in  other  respects,  which,  unfortunately,  are 
obscuie,  have  been  much  less  instrumental  in  fixing  their  status  than  exist- 
ing architectural  remains.  The  Indian  edifices  in  Mexico  and  Central 
Ameiica  of  the  period  of  the  Conquest  may  well  excite  surprise  and  even 
admiiation ; from  their  palatial  extent,  from  the  material  used  in  their  con- 
struction, and  from  the  character  of  their  ornamentation,  they  are  highly 
creditable  to  their  skill  in  architecture.  But  a false  interpretation  has,  from 
the  first,  been  put  upon  this  architecture,  as  I think  can  be  shown,  and 

104 


MORGAN.) 


HOUSES  ADAPTED  TO  COMMUNISM  IN  LIVING. 


105 


inferences  with  respect  to  the  social  condition  and  the*  degree  of  advance- 
ment of  these  tribes  have  been  constantly  drawn  from  it  both  fallacious  and 
deceptive,  when  the  plain  truth  would  have  been  more  creditable  to  the  abo- 
rigines. It  will  be  my  object  to  give  an  interpretation  of  this  architecture 
in  harmony  with  the  usages  and  customs  of  the  Indian  tribes.  The  houses  of 
the  different  tribes,  in  ground-plan  and  mechanism,  will  be  considered  and 
compared,  in  order  to  show  wherein  they  represent  one  system. 

A common  principle,  as  before  stated,  runs  through  all  this  architecture, 
from  the  “long-house”  of  the  Iroquois  to  the  “pueblo  houses”  of  New 
Mexico,  and  to  the  so-called  “palace”  at  Palenque,  and  the  “ House  of  the 
Nuns”  at  Uxmal.  It  is  the  principle  of  adaptation  to  communism  m living, 
restricted  in  the  first  instance  to  household  groups,  and  extended  finally  to 
all  the  inhabitants  of  a village  or  encampment  by  the  law  of  hospitality. 
Hunger  and  destitution  were  not  known  at  one  end  of  an  Indian  village 
while  abundance  prevailed  at  the  other.  Joint-tenement  houses,  each  occu- 
pied by  one  large  household,  as  among  the  Iroquois,  or  by  several  house- 
hold groups,  as  in  Yucatan,  were  the  natural  and  inevitable  result  of  their 
usages  and  customs.  Communism  in  living  and  the  law  of  hospitality,  it 
seems  probable,  accompanied  all  the  phases  of  Indian  life  in  savagery  and 
in  barbarism.  These  and  other  facts  of  their  social  condition  embodied 
themselves  in  their  architecture,  and  will  contribute  to  its  elucidation. 

The  house  architecture  of  the  Northern  tribes  is  of  little  importance, 
in  itself  considered;  but,  as  an  outcome  of  their  social  condition  and  for 
comparison  with  that  of  the  Southern  Village  Indians,  it  is  highly  important. 
An  attempt  will  be  made  to  show,  firstly,  that  the  known  communism  in 
living  of  the  former  tribes  entered  into  and  determined  the  character  of 
their  houses,  which  are  communal ; and,  secondly,  that  wherever  the  struc- 
tures of  the  latter  class  are  obviously  communal,  the  practice  of  commun- 
ism in  living  at  the  period  of  discovery  may  be  inferred  from  the  structures 
themselves,  although  many  of  them  are  now  in  ruins,  and  the  people  who 
constructed  them  have  disappeared.  Some  evidence,  however,  of  the  com- 
munism of  the  Village  Indians  has  been  presented. 


106  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


COMMUNAL  HOUSES  OF  TRIBES  IN  SAVAGERY.  ' 

Mr.  Stephen  Powers,  in  his  recent  and  instructive  work  on  the  “ Cali- 
fornia Tribes,”1  enumerates  seven  varieties  of  the  lodge  constructed  by 
these  tribes,  adapted  to  the  different  climates  of  the  State.  One  form  was 
adapted  to  the  raw  and  foggy  climate  of  the  California  coast,  constructed  of 
redwood  poles  over  an  excavated  pit;  another  to  the  snow-belt  of  the  Coast 
Range  and  of  the  Sierras ; another  to  the  high  ranges  of  the  Sierras ; an- 
other to  the  warm  coast  valleys  ; another,  limited  to  a small  area,  constructed 
of  interlaced  willow  poles,  the  interstices  being  open  ; another  to  the  wood- 
less plains  of  the  Sacramento  and  the  San  Joaquin,  dome-shaped  and  covered 
with  earth  ; and  another  to  the  hot  and  nearly  rainless  region  of  the  Kern 
and  Tulare  valleys,  made  of  tule.  Four  of  these  varieties  are  given  below, 
the  illustrations  being  taken  from  his  work. 

“In  making  a wigwam,  they  excavated  about  two  feet,  banked  up  the 
earth  enough  to  keep  out  the  water,  and  threw  the  remainder  on  the  roof 
dome-shaped.  With  the  Lolsel  the  bride  often  remains  in  the  father’s  house, 
and  her  husband  comes  to  live  with  her,  whereupon  half  the  purchase 
money  is  returned.  Thus  there  will  be  two  or  three  families  in  one  lodge. 
They  are  very  clannish,  especially  the  mountain  tribes,  and  family  influ- 
ence is  all  potent.”2  Elsewhere  he  remarks  upon  this  form  of  house  as  fol- 
lows: “ On  the  great  woodless  plains  of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin, 
the  savages  naturally  had  recourse  to  earth  for  a material.  The  round, 
domed-shaped,  earth-covered  lodge  is  considered  the  characteristic  one  of 
California  ; and  probably  two-thirds  of  its  immense  aboriginal  population 
lived  in  dwellings  of  this  description.  The  doorway  is  sometimes  directly 
on  top,  sometimes  on  the  ground,  at  one  side.  I have  never  been  able  to 
ascertain  whether  the  amount  of  rain-fall  of  any  given  locality  had  any 
influence  in  determining  the  place  of  the  door.”3  This  mode  of  entrance 
reappears  in  the  more  artistic  house  of  the  Pueblo  Indians  of  New  Mexico, 
where  the  rooms  are  entered  by  means  of  a trap-door  in  the  roof,  the  de- 

' Powell’s  Geographical  Survey,  &c.,  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Region,  Contributions  to  American 
Ethnology,  vol.  iii,  Powers’  Tribes  of  California,  p.  436. 

2 lb.,  p.  221. 

3 lb.,  p.  437. 


Fig.  ]. — Earth  Lodges  in  the  Sacramento  Valley. 


MORGAN.] 


FORM  OF  HOUSE  AMONG  TRIBES  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


107 


scent  being  made  by  a ladder,  The  “immense  aboriginal  population”  of 
California,  claimed  by  Mr.  Powers,  is  too  strong  a statement. 

“ This  wigwam  is  in  the  shape  of  the  capital  letter  L,  made  up  of  slats 
leaning  up  to  a ridge-pole  and  heavily  thatched.  All  along  the  middle  of 
it  the  different  families  or  generations  have  their  fires,  while  they  sleep  next 
the  walls,  lying  on  the  ground,  underneath  rabbit-skins  and  other  less  ele- 
gant robes,  and  amid  a filthy  cluster  of  baskets,  dogs,  and  all  the  wretched 
trumpery  dear  to  the  aboriginal  heart.  There  are  three  narrow  holes  for 
dens,  one  at  either  end  and  one  at  the  elbow.”1  This  is  Mr.  Powers’  fifth 
variety  of  the  lodge. 

“ In  tl  le  very  highest  region  of  Sierra,  where  the  snow  falls  to  such  an 
enormous  depth  that  the  fire  would  be  blotted  out  and  the  whole  open  side 
snowed  up,  the  dwelling  retains  substantially  the  same  form  and  materials, 
but  the  fire  is  taken  into  the  middle  of  it,  and  one  side  of  it  (generally  the 
east  one)  slopes  down  more  nearly  horizontal  than  the  other,  and  terminates 
in  a curved  way  about  three  feet  high  and  twice  as  long.”3  Half  a dozen 
such  houses  make  an  Indian  village,  with  the  addition  of  a “dome-shaped 
assembly  or  dance  house”  in  the  middle  space.  “One  or  more  acorn-gran- 
aries of  wicker-work  stand  around  each  lodge,  much  like  hogsheads  in  shape 
and  size,  either  on  the  ground  or  mounted  on  posts  as  high  as  one’s  head, 
full  of  acorns  and  capped  with  thatch.”1 

In  Southern  California,  where  the  climate  is  both  dry  and  hot,  the 
natives  constructed  a wigwam  entirely  different  from  those  found  in  other 
parts  of  the  State.  “In  the  Yokut  nation,”  Mr.  Powers  remarks,  “there 
appears  to  be  more  political  solidarity,  more  capacity  in  the  petty  tribes  of 
being  grouped  into  large  and  coherent  masses  than  is  common  in  the  State. 
This  is  particularly  true  of  those  living  on  the  plains,  who  display  in  their 
encampments  a military  precision  and  regularity  which  are  remarkable. 
Every  village  consists  of  a single  row  of  wigwams,  conical  or  wedge- 
shaped,  generally  made  of  tide,  and  just  enough  hollowed  out  within  so 
that  the  inmates  may  sleep  with  the  head  higher  than  the  feet,  all  in  perfect 
alignment,  and  with  a continuous  awning  of  brushwood  stretching  along  in 
front.  In  one  end-wigwam  lives  the  village  captain;  on  the  other  the 


‘Powers’  Tribes  of  Cal.,  p.  284. 


108  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


shaman  or  si-se'-ro.  In  the  mountains  there  is  some  approach  to  this  mar- 
tial array,  but  it  is  universal  on  the  plains.”1 

As  a rule  these  houses  were  occupied  by  more  families  than  one,  as  is 
shown  by  the  same  author.  In  the  northern  part  of  the  State  “the  Tatu 
wigwams  do  not  differ  essentially  from  those  of  the  vicinal  tribes  They 
are  constructed  of  stout  willow  wicker-work,  dome-shaped,  and  thatched 
with  grass.  Sometimes  they  are  very  large  and  oblong,  with  sleeping-room 
for  thirty  or  forty  persons.”2  The  Yo-kai'-a  inhabit  a section  of  the  north- 
west part  of  the  State.  “ Their  style  of  lodge  is  the  same  which  prevails 
generally  along  Russian  River,  a huge  frame-work  of  willow  poles  covered 
with  thatch,  and  resembling  a large  flattish  haystack.  Though  still  pre- 
serving the  same  style  and  materials,  since  they  have  adopted  from  the 
Americans  the  use  of  boards  they  have  learned  to  construct  all  around  the 
wall  of  the  wigwam  a series  of  little  state  rooms,  if  I may  so  call  them, 
which  are  snugly  boarded  up  and  furnished  with  bunks  inside.  This  enables 
every  family  in  these  immense  patriarchal  lodges  to  disrobe  and  retire  with 
some  regard  to  decency,  which  could  not  be  done  in  the  one  common  room 
of  the  old-style  wigwam.”3  Again:  “The  Se-nel,  together  with  three  other 
petty  tribes,  mere  villages,  occupy  that  broad  expanse  of  Russian  River 
Valley  on  one  side  of  which  now  stands  the  American  village  of  Senel. 
Among  them  we  find  unmistakably  developed  that  patriarchal  system  which 
appears  to  prevail  all  along  Russian  River.  They  construct  immense  dome- 
shaped or  oblong  lodges  of  willow  poles  an  inch  or  two  in  diameter,  woven 
in  square  lattice- work,  securely  lashed  and  thatched.  In  each  one  of  these 
live  several  families,  sometimes  twenty  or  thirty  persons,  including  all  who 
are  blood  relations.  Each  wigwam,  therefore,  is  a pueblo , a law  unto  itself; 
and  yet  these  lodges  are  grouped  in  villages,  some  of  which  formerly  con- 
tained hundreds  of  inhabitants.4  I cannot  find  that  Mr.  Powers  mentions 
the  practice  of  communism  in  these  households,  but  the  fact  seems  probable 
Their  usages  in  the  matter  of  hospitality  are  much  the  same  as  in  the  other 
tribes.  Their  principal  food  was  salmon,  acorn-flour  bread,  game,  kamas, 
and  berries.  They  were,  without  pottery,  cooked  in  ground  ovens,  and 
also  in  water-tight  baskets  by  means  of  heated  stones. 


Powers’  Tribes  of  Cal.,  p.  370. 


2Ib.,  p.  139. 


^Ib.,  p.  1(53. 


4 lb.,  -p.  168. 


Maid ii  Lodge  in  the  High  Sierra. 


Ydkuts  Title  Lodges. 


MORGAN.  | 


KUTCHlN  LODGE. 


109 


A brief  reference  may  be  made  to  the  skin  lodge  of  the  Kutclhn  or 
Louchoux  of  the  Yukon  and  Peel  Rivers. 

This  simple  structure,  the  ground  plan  and  elevation  of  which  were 
taken  from  the  Smithsonian  Report,1  is  thus  described  by  Mr.  Strachan 


Fig.  5. — Kutclrin  Lodge. 


Jones : “ Deer-skins  are  dressed  with  the  hair  on,  and  sewed  together,  form- 
ing two  large  rolls,  which  are  stretched  over  a frame  of  bent  poles.  The 
lodge  is  nearly  elliptical,  about  twelve  or  thirteen  feet  in  diameter  and  six 
feet  high,  very  similar  to  a tea-cup  turned  over.  The  door  is  about  four 
feet  high,  and  is  simply  a deer-skin  fastened  above  and  hanging  down.  The 
hole  to  allow  the  smoke  to  escape  is  about  four  feet  in  diameter.  Snow  is 
heaped  up  outside  the  edges  of  the  lodge  and  pine  brush  spread  on  the 
ground  inside,  the  snow  having  been  previously  shoveled  off  with  snow- 
shoes.  The  tire  is  made  in  the  middle  of  the  lodge,  and  one  or  more  fami- 
lies, as  the  case  may  be,  live  on  each  side  of  the  lire,  every  one  having  his 
or  her  particular  place.”2  He  further  remarks  that  “they  have  no  pottery,” 
and  that  they  boil  water  “by  means  of  stones  heated  red  hot  and  thrown 
into  the  kettle.”3  The  principal  fact  to  be  noticed  is  that  the  lodge  is  com- 
parted into  stalls  open  on  the  central  space,  in  the  midst  of  which  is  the 
fire-pit,  evidently  for  the  accommodation  of  more  families  than  one.  This 
arrangement  of  the  interior  will  reappear  in  numerous  other  cases.  The 
Kutchin  must  be  classed  as  savages,  although  near  the  close  of  that  condi- 
tion. 


Report  for  1866,  p.  321. 


2Ib.,  p.  322. 


3 lb.,  p.  321. 


110  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


The  tribes  of  the  valley  of  the  Columbia  lived  more  or  less  in  villages, 
but,  like  the  tribes  of  California,  were  without  horticulture  and  without 
pottery.  But  they  found  an  abundant  subsistence  in  the  shell-fish  of  the 
coast,  and  in  the  myriads  of  fish  in  the  Columbia  and  its  tributaries.  They 
also  subsisted  upon  kamash  and  other  bread  roots  of  the  prairies,  which 
they  cooked  in  ground  ovens,  and  upon  berries  and  game.  They  were 
expert  boatmen  and  fishermen,  manufactured  water-tight  baskets,  imple- 
ments of  wood,  stone,  and  bone,  and  used  the  bow  and  arrow.  As  another 
quite  remarkable  fact,  they  used  plank  in  their  houses,  made  by  splitting 
logs  with  stone  and  elk-horn  chisels.  Like  the  Kutchin,  they  were  in  the 
Upper  Status  of  savagery. 

When  Lewis  and  Clarke  visited  the  Columbia  River  district  (1805-1806) 
the}^  found  the  Indian  tribes  living  in  houses  of  the  plainest  communal  type, 
and  some  of  them  approaching  in  ground  dimensions  and  in  the  number  of 
their  occupants  the  pueblo  houses  in  New  Mexico.  They  speak  of  a house 
of  the  Cliopunish  (Nez  Percfs)  as  follows:  “This  village  of  Tumachem- 
ootool  is  in  fact  only  a single  house  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long,  built 
after  the  Cliopunish  fashion,  with  sticks,  straw  and  dried  grass.  It  con- 
tains twenty-four  fires,  about  double  that  number  of  families,  and  might 
perhaps  muster  a hundred  fighting  men.”1  This  would  give  five  hundred 
people  in  a single  house.  The  number  of  fires  probably  indicates  the  num- 
ber of  groups  practicing  communism  in  living  among  themselves,  though 
for  aught  we  know  it  may  have  been  general  in  the  entire  household. 


! 

o 

Ov 

ro 

to 

o 

3 

30' 

226  FT. 


Fig.  6 — Ground-plan  of  Ncerclioldoo. 

Another  great  house,  Ncerchokioo,  is  thus  described:  “This  large 
building  is  two  hundred  and  twenty- six  feet  in  front,  entirely  above  ground, 
and  may  be  considered  a single  house,  because  the  whole  is  under  one  roof, 
otherwise  it  would  seem  more  like  a range  of  buildings,  as  it  is  divided  into 


1 Travels,  etc.,  I.  c.,  p.  548. 


MORGAN. 1 


HOUSES  OF  TRIBES  OF  COLUMBIA. 


Ill 


seven  distinct  apartments,  each  thirty  feet  square,  by  means  of  broad  boards 
set  up  on  end  from  the  floor  to  the  roof.  The  apartments  are  separated 
from  each  other  by  a passage  or  alle}^  four  feet  wide,  extending  through 
the  whole  depth  of  the  house,  and  the  only  entrance  is  from  the  alley 
through  a small  hole  about  twenty  inches  wide  and  not  more  than  three  feet 
high.  The  roof  is  formed  of  rafters  and  round  poles  laid  on  horizontally. 
The  whole  is  covered  with  a double  roof  of  bark  of  white  cedar.”1  The  apart- 
ments, as  in  the  previous  case  of  the  tires,  may  be  supposed  to  indicate  the 
number  of  groups  into  which  the  great  household  was  subdivided  for  the 
practice  of  communism. 

Elsewhere,  speaking  of  the  houses  of  the  Clahclellahs,  they  remark: 
“These  houses  are  uncommonly  large;  one  of  them  measured  one  hundred 
and  sixty  by  forty  feet,  and  the  frames  are  constructed  in  the  usual  manner. 
* * * Most  of  the  houses  are  built  of  boards  and  covered  with  bark, 

though  some  of  the  more  inferior  kind  are  constructed  wholly  of  cedar  bark, 
kept  smooth  and  flat  by  small  splinters  fixed  crosswise  through  the  bark, 
at  the  distance  of  twelve  or  fourteen  inches  apart.”2 

The  houses  of  the  coast  tribes  (Clatsops  and  Chinooks)  are  also 
described.  “The  houses  in  this  neighborhood  are  all  large  wooden  build- 
ings, ranging  in  length  from  twenty  to  sixty  feet,  and  from  fourteen  to 
twenty  in  width.  They  are  constructed  in  the  following  manner:  two  posts 
of  split  timber  or  more,  agreeable  to  the  number  of  partitions,  are  sunk  in 
the  ground,  above  which  they  rise  to  the  height  of  fourteen  or  eighteen  feet. 
They  are  hollowed  at  the  top,  so  as  to  receive  the  end  of  a round  beam  or 
pole  (ridge-pole)  stretching  from  one  to  the  other,  and  forming'  the  upper 
point  of  the  roof  for  the  whole  extent  of  the  building.  On  each  side  of  this 
range  is  placed  another,  which  forms  the  eaves  of  the  house,  and  is  about 
five  feet  high;  and  as  the  building  is  often  sunk  to  the  depth  of  four  or  five 
feet,  the  eaves  come  very  near  the  surface  of  the  earth.  Smaller  pieces  of 
timber  are  now  extended  by  pairs,  in  the  form  of  rafters,  from  the  lower  to 
the  upper  beams,  where  they  are  attached  at  both  ends  with  cords  of  cedar 
bark.  On  these  rafters  two  or  three  ranges  of  small  poles  are  placed  hori- 
zontally, and  secured  in  the  same  way  with  strings  of  cedar  bark.  The 

1 Lewis  and  Clarke’s  Travels,  p.  r>03. 


3Ib.,p.  515. 


112  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


sides  are  now  made,  with  a range  of  white  boards,  sunk  a small  distance 
into  the  ground,  with  upper  ends  projecting  above  the  poles  at  the  eaves. 
* * * The  gable  end  and  partitions  are  formed  in  the  same  way.  * * * 
The  roof  is  then  covered  with  a double  range  of  thin  boards,  except  an 
aperture  of  two  or  three  feet  in  the  center,  for  the  smoke  to  pass  through. 
The  entrance  is  by  a small  hole,  cut  out  of  the  boards,  and  just  large  enough 
to  admit  the  body.  The  very  largest  houses  only  are  divided  by  partitions, 
for  though  three  or  four  families  reside  in  the  same  room,  there  is  quite 
space  enough  for  all  of  them.  In  the  center  of  each  room  is  a space  six  or 
eight  feet  square,  sunk  to  the  depth  of  twelve  inches  below  the  rest  of  the 
floor,  and  inclosed  by  four  pieces  of  square  timber.  Here  they  make  the 
fire,  for  which  purpose  pine  bark  is  generally  preferred.  Around  the  fire- 
place mats  are  placed,  and  serve  as  seats  during  the  day,  and  very  fre- 
quently as  beds  at  night.  There  is,  however,  a more  permanent  bed  made 
by  fixing,  in  two  or  sometimes  three  sides  of  the  room,  posts  reaching  from 
the  roof  to  the  ground,  and  at  the  distance  of  four  feet  from  the  wall.  From 
these  posts  to  the  wall  itself,  one  or  two  ranges  of  boards  are  placed  so  as 
to  form  shelves,  in  which  they  either  sleep  or  there  stow  away  their  various 
articles  of  merchandise.”1 

These  explorers  found  the  houses  of  the  Indian  tribes  throughout  the 
Columbia  Valley  occupied  by  several  families,  the  smallest  of  them  con- 
taining from  twenty  to  forty  persons,  and  the  largest  five  hundred.  The 
presence  of  large  households  is  fully  shown  as  the  rule  in  their  house-life. 
The  practice  of  communism  by  the  household,  as  stated  by  these  authors, 
has  already  (supra,  p.  71)  been  presented.  This  tendency  to  aggregation 
in  groups,  for  subsistence  and  for  mutual  protection,  reveals  the  weakness 
of  the  single  family  in  the  presence  of  the  hardships  of  life.  Communism 
in  living  was  very  plainly  a necessity  of  their  condition. 

In  a recent  description  (18G9)  of  the  modern  houses  of  the  Makali 
Indians  of  Cape  Flattery,  Washington  Territory,  by  Mr.  James  G.  Swan, 
the  old  usage  which  led  to  joint-tenement  houses  still  asserts  itself.  Speak- 
ing of  the  manner  of  building  these  houses  in  detail,  he  remarks  that  “they 
are  designed  to  accommodate  several  families,  and  are  of  various  dimeri- 


1 Lewis  and  Clarke’s  Travels,  p.  431, 


MORGAN.] 


OJIBWA  LODGE. 


113 


sions ; some  of  them  being  sixty  feet  long  by  thirty  wide,  and  from  ten  to 
fifteen  feet  high.”1  The  houses  were  made  of  split  boards  on  a frame  ot 
timber. 


COMMUNAL  HOUSES  OF  TRIBES  IN  LOWER  STATUS  OF  BARBARISM. 

Among  the  Indian  tribes  in  the  Lower  Status  of  barbarism  some 
diversity  existed  in  the  plans  of  the  lodge  and  house.  Fig.  7,  which 
is  taken  from  Schoolcraft’s  work  on 
the  Indian  tribes,  shows  the  frame 
of  an  Ojibwa  cabin  or  lodge  of  the 
best  class,  as  it  may  still  be  seen 
on  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Superior. 

Its  mechanism  is  sufficiently  shown 
by  the  frame  of  elastic  poles  exhib- 
ited by  the  figure.  It  is  covered  with 
bark,  usually  canoe -birch,  taken  off 
in  large  pieces  and  attached  with 
splints.  Its  size  on  the  ground  va- 


FlG. 7. — Frame  of  Ojibwa  Wig-e-wam. 

ried  from  ten  to  sixteen  feet,  and  its  height-  from  six  to  ten.  Twigs  of 
spruce  or  hemlock  were  strewn  around  the  border  of  the  lodge  on  the 
ground  floor,  upon  which  blankets  and  skins  were  spread  for  beds.  The 
fire-pit  was  in  the  center  of  the  floor,  over  which,  in  the  center  of  the 
roof,  was  an  opening  for  the  exit  of  the  smoke.  Such  a lodge  would 
accommodate,  in  the  aboriginal  plan  of  living,  two  and  sometimes  three 
married  pairs  with  their  children.  Several  such  lodges  were  usually  found 
in  a cluster,  and  the  several  households  consisted  of  related  families,  the 
principal  portion  being  of  the  same  gens  or  clan.  I am  not  able  to  state 
whether  or  not  the  households  thus  united  by  the  bond  of  kin  practiced 
communism  in  living  in  ancient  times,  but  it  seems  probable.  Carver,  who 
visited  an  Ojibwa  village  in  Wisconsin  in  1767,  makes  it  appear  that  each 
house  was  occupied  by  several  families.  “This  town,”  he  remarks,  “con- 
tains about,  forty  houses,  and  can  send  out  upwards  of  a hundred  warriors, 
many  of  whom  are  fine  young  men.”2  This  would  give,  by  the  usual  rule 

1 Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge,  No.  220,  p.  5.  2 Travels,  etc.,  p.  65, 

8'  ’ . 


114  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


of  computation,  five  hundred  persons,  and  an  average  of  twelve  persons 
to  a house. 

When  first  discovered  the  Dakotas  lived  in  houses  constructed  with  a 
frame  ot  poles  and  covered  with  bark,  each  of  which  was  large  enough  for 

several  families.  They  dwelt  princi- 
pally in  villages  in  their  original  area 
on  the  head-waters  of  the  Mississippi, 
in  the  present  State  of  Minnesota. 
Forced  upon  the  plains  by  an  advanc- 
ing white  population,  but  after  they 
had  become  possessed  of  horses,  they 
invented  a skin  tent  eminently  adapted 
to  their  present  nomadic  condition. 
It  is  superior  to  any  other  in  use 
among  the  American  aborigines  from  its  roominess,  its  portable  character, 
and  the  facility  with  which  it  can  be  erected  and  struck.  The  frame  con- 
sists of  thirteen  poles  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  feet  in  length,  which,  after 
being  tied  together  at  the  small  ends,  are  raised  upright  with  a twist  so  as 
to  cross  the  poles  above  the  fastening.  They  are  then  drawn  apart  at,  the 
large  ends  and  adjusted  upon  the  ground  in  the  rim  of  a circle  usually 
ten  feet  in  diameter.  A number  of  untanned  and  tanned  buffalo  skins, 
stitched  together  in  a form  adjustable  to  the  frame,  are  drawn  around  it  and 
lashed  together,  as  shown  in  the  figure.  The  lower  edges  are  secured 
to  the  ground  with  tent-pins.  At  the  top  there  is  an  extra  skin  adjusted 
as  a collar,  so  as  to  be  open  on  the  windward  side  to  facilitate  the  exit  of  the 
smoke.  A low  opening  is  left  for  a doorway,  which  is  covered  with  an  extra 
skin  used  as  a drop.  The  fire-pit  and  arrangements  for  beds  are  the  same 
as  in  the  Ojibwa  lodge,  grass  being  used  in  the  place  of  spruce  or  hemlock 
twigs.  When  the  tent  is  struck,  the  poles  are  attached  to  a horse,  half  on 
each  side,  like  thills,  secured  to  the  horse’s  neck  at  one  end,  and  the  other 
dragging  on  the  ground.  The  skin-covering  and  other  camp-equipage  are 
packed  upon  other  horses  and  even  upon  their  dogs,  and  are  thus  trans- 
ported from  place  to  place  on  the  plains.  This  tent  is  so  well  adapted  to 
their  mode  of  life  that  it  has  spread  far  and  wide  among  the  Indian  tribes 


MORGAN.]  HOUSES  OF  THE  VIRGINIA  INDIANS.  11,5 

of  the  prairie  region.  I have  seen  it  in  nse  among  seven  or  eight  Dakota 
sub-tribes,  among  the  Iowas,  Otoes,  and  Pawnees,  and  among  the  Black- 
feet,  Crows,  Assiniboines,  and  Crees.  In  1878  I saw  it  in  use  among  the 
Utes  of  Colorado.  A collection  of  fifty  of  these  tents,  which  would 
accommodate  five  hundred  persons,  make  a picturesque  appearance. 
Under  the  name  of  the  “Sibley  tent”  it  is  now  in  use,  with  some  modifica- 
tions of  plan,  in  the  United  States  Army,  for  service  on  the  plains. 

Sir  Richard  Grenville’s  expedition  in  1585  visited  the  south  part  of 
the  original  colony  of  Virginia,  now  included  in  North  Carolina.  They 
landed  at  Roanoke  Island,  and  also 
ascended  a section  of  Albemarle  Sound 
as  far  as  the  villages  of  Pomeiock  and 
Secotan.  An  artist,  John  Wyth,  be- 
fore mentioned,  was  a member  of 
this  expedition,  and  we  are  indebted 
to  him  for  a number  of  valuable 
sketches — the  two  villages  named 
among  the  number,  of  which  copies 
are  given,  together  with  representa- 
tions of  the  people  and  of  their  in- 
dustrial arts  The  description  of 
Pomeiock  is  as  follows:  “The  towns 
in  Virginia  are  very  like  those  of 
Florida,  not,  however,  so  well  and 
firmly  built,  and  are  enclosed  by  a circular  palisade  with  a narrow  entrance. 
In  the  town  of  Pomeiock,  the  buildings  are  mostly  those  of  the  chiefs  and 
men  of  rank.  On  one  side  is  the  Temple  (council-house)  (A)  of  a circular 
shape,  apart  from  the  rest,  and  covered  with  mats  on  every  side,  without 
windows,  and  receiving  no  light  except  through  the  entrance.  The  resi- 
dence of  their  chief  (B)  is  constructed  of  poles  fixed  in  the  ground,  bound 
together  and  covered  with  mats,  which  are  thrown  off  at  pleasure,  to  admit 
as  much  light  and  air  as  they  may  require.  Some  are  covered  with  the 
boughs  of  trees.  The  natives,  as  represented  in  the  plate,  are  indulging 


116  DOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


in  their  sports.  When  the  spring  or  pond  is  at  a distance  from  the  town, 
they  dig  a ditch  from  it  that  supplies  them  with  water  ”1 

The  village  consisted  of  seventeen  joint-tenement  houses  and  a council- 
house,  arranged  around  a central  open  space,  and  surrounded  with  a pali- 
sade. Here  the  Algonkin  lodge,  unlike  that  of  the  Ojibwas,  is  a long, 
round-roofed  house,  apparently  from  fifty  to  eighty  feet  in  length,  covered 
with  movable  matting  in  th.e  place  of  bark,  and  large  enough  to  accom- 
modate several  families.  The  suggestion  of  this  author,  that  “the  buildings 
were  mostly  those  of  chiefs  and  men  of  rank,”  embodies  the  precise  error 
which  has  repeated  itself  from  first  to  last  with  respect  to  the  houses  of 
American  aborigines.  Because  the  houses  at,  Pomeiock  were  large,  they 
were  the  residences  of  chiefs;  and  because  the  House  of  the  Nuns  at  Uxmal 
was  of  palatial  extent,  it  was  the  exclusive  residence  of  an  Indian  poten- 
tate— conclusions  opposed  to  the  whole  theory  of  Indian  life  and  institutions. 
Indian  chiefs,  the  continent  over,  were  housed  with  the  people,  and  no  better, 
as  a rule,  than  the  poorest  of  them. 

“Some  of  their  towns,”  says  the  same  author,  “are  not  enclosed  with 
a palisade  and  are  much  more  pleasant  ; Secotan,  for  example,  here  drawn 
from  nature.  The  houses  are  more  scattered  and  a greater  degree  of  com- 
fort and  cultivation  is  observable,  with  gardens  in  which  tobacco  (E)  is 
cultivated,  woods  filled  with  deer,  and  fields  of  corn.  In  the  fields  they 
erect  a stage  (F),  in  which  a sentry  is  stationed  to  guard  against  the  dep- 
redations of  birds  and  thieves.  Their  corn  they  plant  in  rows  (Id),  for  it 
grows  so  large,  with  thick  stalk  and  broad  leaves,  that  one  plant  would 
stint  the  other  and  it  would  never  arrive  at  maturity.  They  have  also  a 
curious  place  (C)  where  the)7  convene  with  their  neighbors  at  their  feasts, 
as  more  fully  shown  on  Plate  20,  and  from  which  they  go  to  the  feast  (D) 
On  the  opposite  side  is  their  place  of  prayer  (B),  and  near  to  it  the  sepul- 
chre of  their  chiefs  (A).  * * * They  have  gardens  for  melons  (I), 

and  a place  (K)  where  they  build  their  sacred  fires.  At  a little  distance 
from  the  town  is  the  pond  (L)  from  which  they  obtain  their  water.”2 

The  houses  of  the  Powhatan  Indians  of  Virginia  proper,  as  described 


1 Wyth’s  Sketches  of  Virginia,  first  published  by  De  Bry,  1690,  La, ugly’s  ed.,  1841,  Plate  21. 

2 Sketches,  etc.,  of  Virginia,  description  of  Plate  22. 


Fig.  10. — Village  of  Seeotan 


MORGAN  1 


HOUSES  OF  THE  VIRGINIA  INDIANS. 


117 


by  Captain  John  Smith,  were  precisely  like  those  of  Pomeiock  and  Secotan. 
A part  of  the  interior  of  the  house  in  which  Smith  was  received  by  Pow- 
hatan as  a prisoner  is  engraved  upon  his  map  of  Virginia,  of  which  the 
following  is  a copy: 

“Their  houses  are 
built/’  Smith  remarks,  “like 
our  arbors,  of  small  young 
sprigs,  bowed  and  tied,  and 
so  close  covered  with  mats, 
or  the  bark  of  trees,  very 
handsomely,  that  notwith- 
standing either  wind,  rain, 
or  weather,  they  are  as 
warm  as  stoves,  but  very 
smoky  ; yet,  at  the  top  of 
the  house  there  is  a hole 
made  for  the  smoke  to  <ro 

o 

into  right  over  the  lire. 

Against  the  tire  they  lie  on 
little  hurdles  of  reeds  cov- 
ered with  a mat,  borne  from 
the  ground  a foot  or  more 
by  a hurdle  of  wood.  On 
these,  round  about  the  house, 
they  lie,  heads  and  points, 
one  by  the  other  against  the  tire,  some  covered  with  mats,  some  with  skins, 
and  some  stark  naked  lie  on  the  ground,  from  six  to  twenty  in  a house.”1 

The  engraving  is  probably  an  improvement  upon  the  original  house  in 
the  symmetry  of  the  structure,  but  it  is  doubtless  a,  truthful  representation 
of  its  mechanism.  It  seems  likely  that  a double  set  of  upright  poles  were 
used,  one  upon  the  outside  and  one  on  the  inside,  between  which  the  mat- 
tings of  canes  or  willows  were  secured,  as  the  houses  at  Pomeiock  and  Seco- 
tan are  ribbed  externally  at  intervals  of  about  eight  feet,  showing  four,  live, 


J^cld  this jiate  il pie/hion  when  Cap h Smith 
-was  delivered  to  him  jrri/oner 
idoy 

Fig.  11. — Interior  of  House  of  Virginia  Indians. 


1 History  of  Virginia,  i,  130. 


] 1 8 HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


and  six  sections.  Each  house,  on  this  hypothesis,  would  be  from  twenty- 
four  to  forty-eight  feet  long.  A reference  (supra,  p 67)  has  been  made  to 
the  size  of  the  houses  of  the  Virginia  Indians,  from  which  their  communistic 
character  may  be  inferred. 

In  the  “Journal  of  a Voyage  to  New  York,”  in  1679—80,  by  Jasper 
Dankers  and  Peter  Sluyter,  edited  and  translated  by  Hon.  Henry  C.  Mur- 
phy, there  is  a careful  description  of  a house  of  the  Nyaek  Indians  of  Long 
Island,  an  Algonkin  tribe,  affiliated  linguistically  with  the  Virginia  Indians. 
The  Nyaek  house  corresponds  very  closely  with  those  last  named.  “We 
went  from  hence  to  her  habitation,”  these  authors  remark,  “ where  we  found 
the  wdiole  troop  together,  consisting  of  seven  or  eight  families,  and  twenty 
or  twenty-two  persons,  I should  think.  Their  house  was  low  and  long, 
about  sixty  feet  long  and  fourteen  or  fifteen  feet  wide.  The  bottom  was 
earth;  the  sides  and  roof  were  made  of  reed  and  the  bark  of  chestnut  trees; 
the  posts  or  columns  were  limbs  of  trees  stuck  in  the  ground,  and  all 
fastened  together  The  top  or  ridge  of  the  roof  was  open  about  half  a foot 
wide,  from  one  end  to  the  other,  in  order  to  let  the  smoke  escape,  in  the 
place  of  a chimney.  On  the  sides  or  walls  of  the  house,  the  roof  was  so 
low  that  you  could  hardly  stand  under  it.  The  entrance,  or  doors,  which 
were  at  both  ends,  were  so  small  and  low  that  they  had  to  stoop  down  and 
squeeze  themselves  to  get  through  them.  The  doors  were  made  of  reed  or 
fiat  bark.  In  the  whole  building  there  was  no  lime,  stone,  iron,  or  lead 
They  build  their  fires  in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  according  to  the  number 
of  families  which  live  in  it,  so  that  from  one  end  to  the  other  each  of  them 
boils  its  own  pot,  and  eats  when  it  likes,  not  onty  the  families  by  themselves, 
but  each  Indian  alone,  according  as  he  is  hungry,  at  all  hours,  morning, 
noon,  and  night.  By  each  fire  are  the  cooking  utensils,  consisting  of  a pot, 
a bowl  or  calabash,  and  a spoon,  also  made  of  a calabash.  These  are  all 
that  relate  to  cooking.  They  lie  upon  mats  with  their  feet  towards  the  fire, 
on  each  side  of  it.  They  do  not  sit  much  upon  anything  raised  up,  but,  for 
the  most  part,  sit  on  the  ground  or  squat  on  their  ankles  Their  other 
household  articles  consist  of  a calabash  of  water,  out  of  which  they  drink, 
a small  basket  in  which  to  carry  and  keep  their  maize  and  small  beans,  and 
a knife.  * * * All  who  live  in  one  house  are  generally  of  one  stock  or 


MORGAN.] 


HOUSES  OF  THE  jSTYACKS  OF  LONG-  ISLAND 


119 


descent,  as  father  and  mother  with  their  offspring.  Their  bread  is  maize 
pounded  on  a block  by  a stone,  but  not  fine.  This  is  mixed  with  water 
and  made  into  a cake,  which  they  bake  under  the  hot  ashes.  They  gave  us 
a small  piece  when  we  entered,  and  although  the  grains  were  not  ripe,  and 
it  was  half  baked  and  coarse  grains,  we  nevertheless  had  to  eat  it,  or,  at 
least,  not  throw  it  away  before  them,  which  they  would  have  regarded  as  a 
great  sin,  or  a great  affront.”1 

There  is  nothing  in  these  statements  forbidding  the  supposition  that 
the  household  described  practiced  communism  in  living.  The  composition 
of  the  household  shows  that  it  was  formed  on  the  principle  of  gentile  kin, 
while  the  several  families  cooked  at  the  different  tires,  which  was  the  usual 
practice  in  the  different  tribes ; the  stores  were  probably  common,  and  the 
household  under  a matron.  It  will  be  noticed  also  that  tliev  mive  him 

O 

maize  bread  when  he  first  entered  the  house.  He  little  supposed  that  it 
was  in  obedience  to  a law  or  usage  universal  in  the  Indian  family. 


Fi<;.  12. — Ho-de'-no-soto  of  the  Seneca-Iroquois. 


During  the  greater  part  of  the  year  the  Iroquois  resided  in  villages. 
The  size  of  the  village  was  estimated  by  the  number  of  the  houses,  and 
the  size  of  the  house  by  the  number  of  tires  it  contained.  One  of  the 
largest  of  the  Seneca-Iroquois  villages,  situated  at  Mendon,  near  Rochester, 
N.  V.,  is  thus  described  by  Mr.  Greenbalgh,  who  visited  it  in  1677  : “Tio- 
tohatton  is  on  the  brink  or  edge  of  a hill,  has  not  much  cleared  ground,  is 
near  the  river  Tiotohatton  [outlet  of  Honeoye  Lake],  which  signifies  bending. 


1 Journal,  elc.,  p.  124, 


120  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMEBIC  A ]ST  ABOBIGINES. 


It  lies  to  the  westward  of  Canagora  (Canandaigua)  about  thirty  miles,  con- 
tains about  120  houses,  being  the  largest  of  all  the  houses  we  saw,  the 
ordinary  being  fifty  to  sixty  feet  long,  with  twelve  and  thirteen  fires  in  one 
house.  They  have  a good  store  of  corn  growing  to  the  northward  of  the 
town.”1 

The  “long-house”  of  the  Iroquois,  from  which  they  called  themselves, 
as  one  confederated  people,  Ho-de'-no-sau-nee  (People  of  the  Long- House), 
was  from  fifty  to  eighty  and  sometimes  one  hundred  feet  long.  It  consisted 
of  a strong  frame  of  upright  poles  set  in  the  ground,  which  were  strength- 
ened with  horizontal  poles  attached  with  withes,  and  surmounted  with  a 
triangular,  and  in  some  cases  with  a round  roof.  It  was  covered  over,  both 
sides  and  roof,  with  large  strips  of  elm  bark  tied  to  the  frame  with  strings 
or  splints.  An  external  frame  of  poles  for  the  sides  and  of  rafters  for  the 
roof  were  then  adjusted  to  hold  the  bark  shingles  between  them,  the  two 
frames  being  tied  together. 


o • « « 


96  FT. 

Fig.  13. — Ground-plan  of  Seneca-Iroquois  Long-House. 

The  interior  of  the  house  was  comparted  at  intevals  of  six  or  eight 
feet,  leaving  each  chamber  entirely  open  like  a stall  upon  the  passage  way 
which  passed  through  the  center  of  the  house  from  end  to  end.  At  each 
end  was  a doorway  covered  with  suspended  skins.  Between  each  four 
apartments,  two  on  a side,  was  a fire-pit  in  the  center  of  the  hall,  used  in 
common  by  their  occupants.  Thus  a house  with  five  fires  would  contain 
twenty  apartments  and  accommodate  twenty  families,  unless  some  apart- 
ments were  reserved  for  storage.  They  were  warm,  roomy,  and  tidily- 
kept  habitations.  Raised  bunks  were  constructed  around  the  walls  of  each 
apartment  for  beds.  From  the  roof-poles  were  suspended  their  strings  of 
corn  in  the  ear,  braided  by  the  husks,  also  strings  of  dried  squashes  and 
pumpkins.  Spaces  were  contrived  here  and  there  to  store  away  their  accu- 


Documentary  History  of  New  York,  vol.  i,  p.  13. 


MOEGAtT.] 


HOUSES  OF  THE  SENECA-IROQUOIS. 


121 


mulations  of  provisions.  Each  house,  as  a rule,  was  occupied  by  related 
families,  the  mothers  and  their  children  belonging  to  the  same  gens,  while 
their  husbands  and  the  fathers  of  these  children  belonged  to  other  gentes; 
consequently  the  gens  or  clan  of  the  mother  largely  predominated  in  the 
household.  Whatever  was  taken  in  the  hunt  or  raised  by  cultivation  by 
any  member  of  the  household,  as  has  elsewhere  been  stated,  was  for  the 
common  benefit.  Provisions  were  made  a common  stock  within  the  house- 
hold. 

Here  was  communism  in  living  carried  out  in  practical  life,  but  limited 
to  the  household,  and  an  expression  of  the  principle  in  the  plan  of  the 
house  itself  Having  found  it  in  one  stock  as  well  developed  as  the  Iroquois, 
a presumption  of  its  universality  in  the  Indian  family  at  once  arises,  because 
it  was  a law  of  their  condition.  Evidence  of  its  general  prevalence  has 
elsewhere  been  presented. 

In  a previous  chapter  the  usages  of  the  Iroquois  in  regard  to  eating 
have  been  given.  It  came  practically  to  one  cooked  meal  each  day.  The 
separate  tires  in  each  house  were  for  convenience  in  cooking,  all  the  stores 
in  the  house  being  common  The  plan  of  life  within  them  was  studied  and 
economical.  This  is  shown  by  the  presence  of  a matron  in  each  household, 
who  made  a division  of  the  food  from  the  kettle  to  each  family  according 
to  their  needs,  and  reserved  what  remained  for  future  disposal.  It  shows 
system  and  organization  in  their  long-houses,  with  a careful  supervision  of 
their  stores,  and  forethought  as  well  as  equity  in  the  management  and  dis- 
tribution of  their  food.  In  these  households,  formed  on  the  principle  of 
kin,  was  laid  the  foundation  for  that  “mother  power”  which  was  even  more 
conspicuous  in  the  tribes  of  the  Old  World,  and  which  Professor  Bachofen 
was  the  first  to  discuss  under  the  name  of  gyneocracy  and  mother-right1 
Since  the  mothers  who  dwelt  together  were  usually  sisters,  own  or  collat- 
eral, and  of  the  same  gens,  and  since  their  children  were  also  of  the  gens 
of  their  mother,  the  preponderating  number  in  the  household  would  be  of 
gentile  kin.  The  right  and  the  influence  of  the  mother  were  protected  and 
strengthened  through  the  maternal  as  well  as  the  gentile  bond.  The  hus- 
bands were  in  the  minority  as  to  kindred.  In  case  of  separation  it  tvas  the 


•Das  Mutterreclit,  Stuttgart,  1861. 


122  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


husband  and  not  the  wife  who  left  the  house.  Blit  this  influence  of  the 
woman  did  not  reach  outward  to  the  affairs  of  the  gens,  phratry,  or  tribe, 
but  seems  to  have  commenced  and  ended  with  the  household.  This  view 
is  quite  consistent  with  the  life  of  patient  drudgery  and  of  general  subor- 
dination to  the  husband  which  the  Iroquois  wife  cheerfully  accepted  as  the 
portion  of  her  sex.  Among  the  Grecian  tribes  descent  had  been  changed 
to  the  male  line  at  the  commencement  of  the  historical  period.  It  thus 
reversed  the  position  of  the  wife  and  mother  in  the  household;  she  was  of 
a different  gens  from  her  children,  as  well  as  her  husband;  and  under  monog- 
amy was  now  isolated  from  her  gentile  kindred,  living  in  the  separate  and 
exclusive  house  of  her  husband.  Her  new  condition  tended  to  subvert 
and  destroy  that  power  and  influence  which  descent  in  the  female  line  and 
the  joint-tenement,  houses  had  created.  It  is,  therefore,  the  more  surprising 
that  so  man)'  traces  of  this  anterior  condition  should  have  remained  in  the 
Grecian  and  other  tribes,  which  Professor  Bachofen  has  pointed  out,  since 
gyneocracy  and  mother-right,  as  discussed  by  him,  must  have  originated 
among  these  tribes  when  under  the  gentile  organization,  and  with  descent  in 
the  female  line. 

The  “Joint  Undivided  Family”  of  the  Hindus  at  the  present  time, 
“joint  in  food,  worship,  and  estate,”  brought  to  our  notice  by  Sir  Henry 
Maine, 1 is  a similar  but  probably  more  numerous  household  than  that  of 
the  Iroquois.  As  soon  as  special  investigation  is  made,  joint-tenement 
houses  and  communism  in  living  are  found  to  be  persistent  features  of  bar- 
barous life  in  the  Old  World  as  well  as  the  New,  but  limited  to  the  house- 
hold. Strabo  informs  us  that  the  Gauls  lived  in  great  houses,  constructed 
of  planks  and  wicker,  with  dome  roofs  covered  with  heavy  thatch.2 
Wherever  such  houses  existed  there  is  at  least  a presumption  that  they 
were  occupied  by  several  families,  who  formed  a single  household  -and 
practiced  communism. 

The  Iroquois  long-houses  disappeared  before  the  commencement  of 
the  present  century.  Very  little  is  now  remembered  by  the  Indians  them- 
selves of  their  form  and  mechanism,  or  of  the  plan  of  life  within  them. 
Some  knowledge  of  these  houses  remains  among  that  class  of  Indians  who 


Early  History  of  Institutions,  Holt’s  ed.,  pp.  100  and  106. 


2 Lib.  iv,  c.  4,  s.  3, 


MORGAN.] 


HOUSES  OF  THE  ONONDAGA  IROQUOIS. 


123 


are  curious  about  their  ancient  customs.  It  has  passed  into  the  traditionary 
form,  and  is  limited  to  a few  particulars.  A complete  understanding  of  the 
mode  of  life  in  these  long-houses  will  not,  probably,  ever  be  recovered.  In 
1743  Mr.  John  Bartram  attended  a council  at  Onondaga,  and  kept  a journal, 
afterwards  published,  in  which  he  inserted  a ground  plan  of  the  long- house 
in  which  they  were  quartered.  It  is  the  first  ground  plan  of  one  of  these 
houses  ever  published,  so  far  as  the  author  is  aware,  and  the  only  one  prior 
to  the  appearance  of  Johnson’s  Cyclopaedia  in  1875. 


Our  , 

INDIANS 

APARTMENT: 

COMMON  PASSAGE,  6 FEET  WIDE.&.  FIRE  PLACE. 


OUR 

apartment: 


CO 

X 

m 

o 


80  FEET  LONG 


Fig.  14. — Bartram’s  ground-plan  and  cross-section  of  Onondaga  Long-House,  in  1743. 


It  should  be  noted  that  in  1696  Count  Frontenac  invaded  Onondaga 
with  a large  French  and  Indian  force,  and  that  the  Onondagas  destroyed 
their  principal  village  and  retired.  “ The  cabins  of  the  Indians,”  says  the 
relator,  “and  the  triple  palisade  which  encircled  their  fort  were  found 
entirely  burnt.”1  The  new  village  visited  by  Mr.  Bartram  was  probably 
quite  near  the  site  of  the  old.  He  says,  “The  town  in  its  present  state  is 
about  two  or  three  miles  long,  yet  the  scattered  cabins  on  both  sides  of  the 
water  are  not  above  forty  in  number;  many  of  them  hold  two  families,  but 
all  stand  single,  so  that  the  whole  town  is  a strange  mixture  of  cabins,  inter- 
spersed with  great  patches  of  high  grass,  bushes  and  shrubs,  some  of  peas, 
corn,  and  squashes.  * * * We  alighted  at  the  council-house,  where 

the  chiefs  were  already  assembled  to  receive  us,  which  they  did  with  a 
grave,  cheerful  complaisance  according  to  their  custom.  They  showed  us 
where  to  la}"  our  luggage,  and  repose  ourselves  during  our  stay  with  them, 
which  was  in  the  two  end  apartments  of  this  large  house.  The  Indians 
that  came  with  us  were  placed  over  against  us.  This  cabin  is  about  eighty 
feet  long  and  seventeen  broad,  the  common  passage  six  feet  tvide,  and  the 
apartments  on  each  side  five  feet,  raised  a foot  above  the  passage  by  a long 


1 Documentary  History  of  New  York,  p.  332. 


124  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


sapling  hewed  square,  and  fitted  with  joists  that  go  from  it  to  the  back  of 
the  house.  On  these  joists  they  lay  large  pieces  of  bark,  and  on  extraordi- 
nary occasions  spread  mats  made  of  rushes,  which  favor  we  had.  On  these 
floors  they  set  or  lye  down  every  one  as  he  will.  The  apartments  are 
divided  from  each  other  by  boards  or  bark  six  or  seven  feet  long  from  the 
lower  floor  to  the  upper,  on  which  they  put  their  lumber.  When  they  have 
eaten  their  hominy,  as  they  set  in  each  apartment  before  the  fire,  they  can 
put  the  bowl  over  head,  having  not  above  five  foot  to  reach.  They  set  on 
the  floor  sometimes  at  each  end,  but  mostly  at  one.  They  have  a shed  to 
put  their  wood  into  in  the  winter,  Dr  in  the  summer  to  set,  converse  or  play, 
that  has  a door  t'o  the  south.  All  the  sides  and  roof  of  the  cabin  is  made 
of  bark,  bound  fast  to  poles  set  in  the  ground,  and  bent  round  on  the  top,  or 
set  aflat  for  the  roof  as  we  set  our  rafters;  over  each  fire-place  they  leave  a 
hole  to  let  out  the  smoke,  which  in  rainy  weather  they  cover  with  a piece 
of  bark,  and  this  they  can  easily  reach  with  a pole  to  push  it  on  one  side 
or  quite  over  the  hole.  After  this  manner  are  most  of  their  cabins  built.”1 
The  end  section  shows  a round  roof,  as  in  the  houses  of  the  Virginia 
Indians,  and  the  ground  plan  agrees  in  all  respects  with  the  old  long-houses 
of  the  Seneca-Iroquois  as  described  by  them  to  the  author  before  he  had 
seen  Mr.  Bartram’s  plan. 

In  the  Documentary  History  of  New  York  (vol.  iii,  p.  14)  there  is  a 
remarkable  picture  of  the  principal  village  of  the  Onondagas  which  was 
visited  or  rather  attacked  by  Champlain  in  1615.  The  location  of  this  vil- 
lage was  not  established  until  1877,  when  General  John  S.  Clarke,  of  Au- 
burn, by  means  of  Champlain’s  map  and  sketch  of  the  village,  and  his  rela- 
tion of  the  particulars  of  the  expedition,  found  the  site  of  the  village  in  the 
town  of  Fenner,  some  miles  northeast  of  the  Onondaga  Valley. 

It  was  situated  upon  the  edge  of  a natural  pond,  covering  ten  acres  of 
land,  and  between  a small  brook  which  emptied  into  the  pond  on  the  left 
and  the  outlet  of  the  pond  which  passed  it  on  the  right.  The  space  covered 
by  the  village  site  was  about  six  acres  of  land,  strongly  fortified  by  a series 
of  palisades.  Champlain  states  in  his  relation  that  “ their  village  was  en- 
closed with  strong  quadruple  palisades  of  large  timber,  thirty  feet  high, 


Observations,  etc.;  Travels  to  Onondaga,  Lond.  ed.,  1751,  pp.  40, 41. 


15. — Palisaded  Onondaga  Village. 


MORGAN.] 


PALISADED  IROQUOIS  VILLAGE. 


125 


interlocked  the  one  with  the  other,  with  an  interval  of  not  more  than  half  a 
foot  between  them,  with  galleries  in  the  form  of  parapets,  defended  with 
double  pieces  of  timber,  proof  against  our  arquebuses,  and  on  one  side  they 
had  a pond  with  a never-failing  supply  of  water,  from  which  proceeded  a 
number  of  gutters  which  they  had  laid  along  the  intermediate  space,  throw- 
ing the  water  without,  and  rendering  it  effectual  inside  for  the  purpose  of 
extinguishing  the  fire.  Such  was  their  mode  of  fortification  and  defence, 
which  was  much  stronger  tliau  the  villages  of  the  Attigouatuans  (Hurons) 
and  others.”1 

Although  Champlain  attacked  this  place  with  fire-arms,  then  first  heard 
by  the  Onondagas,  and  by  means  of  a rude  tower  of  his  invention,  and 
with  a considerable  force  of  French  and  Indians,  he  was  unable  to  capture 
it,  and  retired.  The  use  of  water,  with  gutters  to  flood  the  ground  upon 
an  outer  palisade  when  attacked  with  fire,  as  imperfectly  shown  in  the  en- 
graving, was  certainly  ingenious.  General  Clarke  has  investigated  the 
defensive  works  of  the  Iroquois,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  he  will  soon  give 
the  results  to  the  public. 

Knowing,  as  we  now  do,  that  the  space  inclosed  within  the  palisades 
was  about  six  acres  of  land,  the  houses  are  not  only  seen  to  be  log  houses, 
but  arranged  or  constructed  side  by  side  in  blocks,  and  the  whole  thrown 
together  in  the  form  of  a square,  with  an  open  space  in  the  center.  The 
houses  seem  to  be  in  threes  and  fours,  and  even  sixes,  side  by  side,  and 
from  sixty  to  one  hundred  feet  in  length  ; but  if  this  conclusion  is  fairly 
warranted  by  the  engraving,  it  might  well  be  that  each  house  was  sepa- 
rated from  its  neighbor  by  a narrow  open  space  or  lane.  It  is  the  only 
representation  I have  ever  seen  of  a palisaded  village  of  the  Iroquois  of 
the  period  of  their  discovery.  It  covered  about  fifty-four  acres  of  land. 

The  Mandans  and  Minnetarees  of  the  Upper  Missouri  constructed  a 
timber-framed  house,  superior  in  design  and  in  mechanical  execution  to 
to  those  of  the  Indians  north  of  New  Mexico.  In  1862  I saw  the  remains 
of  the  old  Mandan  village  shortly  after  its  abandonment  by  the  Arickarees, 
its  last  occupants.  The  houses,  nearly  all  of  which  were  of  the  same  model, 
were  falling  into  decay — for  the  village  was  then  deserted  of  inhabitants — • 


■Doc.  Hist.  New  York,  iii,  14. 


126  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


PACES 

Fig.  16. — Mandan  Village  Plot. 


but  some  of  them  were  still  perfect,  and  the  plan  of  their  structure  easily 
made  out.  The  aboveground-plan  of  the  village  was  taken  from  the  work 
of  Prince  Maximilian,  and  the  remaining  illustrations  are  from  sketches  and 
measurements  of  the  author.  . It  was  situated  upon  a bluff  on  the  west  side 

of  the  Missouri,  and  at  a bend  in  the 
river  which  formed  an  obtuse  angle, 


and  covered  about  six  acres  of  land. 
T he  village  was  surrounded  with  a 
stockade  made  of  timbers  set  verti- 
cally in  the  ground,  and  about  ten 
feet  high,  but  then  in  a dilapidated 
state. 

The  houses  were  circular  in  ex- 
ternal form,  the  walls  being  about  five 
feet  high,  and  sloping  inward  and  upward  from  the  ground,  upon  which 
rested  an  inclined  roof,  both  the  exterior  wall  and  the  roof  being  plastered 
over  with  earth  a foot  and  a half  thick.  For  this  reason  they  have  usually 
been  called  “dirt  lodges.” 

These  houses  are  about  forty  feet  in  diam- 
eter, with  the  floor  sunk  afoot  or  more  below 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  six  feet  high  on  the 
inside  at  the  line  of  the  wall,  and  from  twelve 
to  fifteen  feet  high  at  the  center.  Twelve  posts, 
six  or  eight  inches  in  diameter,  are  set  in  the 
ground,  at  equal  distances,  in  the  circumfer- 
ence of  a circle,  and  rising  about  six  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  floor.  String-pieces,  resting  in 
forks  cut  in  the  ends  of  these  posts,  form  a 
polygon  at  the  base  and  also  upon  the  ground 
floor.  Against  these  an  equal  number  of 
braces  are  sunk  in  the  ground  about  four  feet 
distant,  which,  slanting  upward,  are  adjusted  by  means  of  depressions  cut 
in  the  ends,  so  as  to  hold  both  the  posts  and  the  stringers  firmly  in  their 
[daces.  Slabs  of  wood  are  then  set  in  the  spaces  between  the  braces  at  the 


Fig.  17. — Ground-plan  of  a Mandan 
House. 


MORGAN.] 


INTERIOR  OF  MAN  DAN  HOUSE. 


127 


same  inclination,  and  resting  against  the  stringers,  which  when  completed 
surrounded  the  lodge  with  a wooden  wall.  Four  round  posts,  each  six  or 
eight  inches  in  diameter,  are  set  in  the  ground  near  the  center  of  the  floor, 
in  the  angles  of  a square,  ten  feet  apart,  and  rising  from  ten  to  fltteen  teet 
above  the  ground  floor.  These  again  are  connected  by  stringers  resting  in 
forks  at  their  tops,  upon  which  and  the  external  wall  the  rafters  rest. 

The  engraving  exhibits  a cross-section,  as  described.  Poles  three  or 
four  inches  in  diameter  are  placed  as  rafters  from  the  external  wall  to  the 
string-pieces  above 


the  central  parts, 
and  near  enough  to- 
gether to  give  the 

o o 

requisite  strength 
to  support  the  earth 
covering  placed 
upon  the  roof. 


Fig.  18.— Cross-section  of  House. 


These  poles  were  tirst  covered  over  with  willow  matting,  upon  which  prairie 
grass  was  overspread,  and  over  all  a deep  covering  of  earth.  An  opening 
was  left  in  the  center,  about  four  feet  in  diameter,  for  the  exit  of  the  smoke 
and  for  the  admission  of  light.  The  interior  was  spacious  and  tolerably  well 
lighted,  although  the  opening  in  the  roof  and  a single  doorway  were  the 
only  apertures  through  which  light  could  penetrate.  There  was  but  one 
entrance,  protected  by  what  has  been  called  the  Eskimo  doorway;  that  is, 
by  a passage  some  five  feet  wide,  ten  or  twelve  feet  long,  and  about  six  feet 
high,  constructed  with  split  timbers,  roofed  with  poles,  and  covered  with 
earth.  Buffalo-robes  suspended  at  the  outer  and  inner  entrances  supplied 
the  place  of  doors.  Each  house  was  comparted  by  screens  of  willow  mat- 
ting or  unhaired  skins  suspended  from  the  rafters,  with  spaces  between  for 
storage.  These  slightly-constructed  apartments  opened  towards  the  central 
fire  like  stalls,  thus  defining  an  open  central  area  around  the  fire-pit,  which 
was  the  gathering  place  of  the  inmates  of  the  lodge.  This  fire-pit  was  about 
five  feet  in  diameter,  a foot  deep,  and  encircled  with  flat  stones  set  up  edge- 
wise. A hard,  smooth,  earthen  floor  completed  the  interior.  Such  a lodge 
would  accommodate  five  or  six  families,  embracing  thirty  or  forty  persons. 


128  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


It  was  a communal  house,  in  accordance  with  the  usages  and  institutions  of 
the  American  aborigines,  and  growing  naturally  out  of  their  mode  of  life. 
I counted  forty-eight  houses,  which  would  average  forty  feet  in  diameter, 
all  constructed  upon  this  plan,  besides  several  rectangular  log  houses  of 
later  erection  and  of  the  American  type. 

These  houses,  of  which  a-  representation  is  given  in  Fig.  19,  were 


thickly  studded  to- 
gether to  economize 
the  space  within  the 
stockade,  so  that  in 
walking1  through  tl le 
village  you  passed 
along  some  circular 
foot-paths.  There 
was  no  street,  and 
it  was  impossible  to 


see  in  any  direction,  except  for  short  distances.  In  the  center  there  was 
an  open  space,  where  their  religious  rites  and  festivals  were  observed1 

Not  the  least  interesting  fact  connected  with  these  creditable  structures 
was  the  quantity  of  materials  required  for  their  erection  and  the  amount  of 
labor  required  for  their  transportation  for  long  distances  down  the  river,  and 
to  fashion  them,  with  the  aid  of  tire  and  stone  implements,  into  such  com- 
fortable dwellings.  The  trees  are  here  confined  to  the  bottom  lands  between 
the  banks  of  the  river,  the  river  being  bordered  for  miles  by  open  prairies, 
and  the  trees  growing  in  patches  at  long  distances  apart.  To  cut  the  tim- 
ber without  metallic  implements,  and  to  transport  it  without  animal  power, 
indicate  a degree  of  persevering  industry  highly  creditable  to  a people  who, 
at  this  stage  of  progress,  are  averse  to  labor  on  the  part  of  the  males. 
Habitual  male  industry  makes  its  first  appearance  in  the  next  or  the  Middle 
Status  of  barbarism.  The  men  here  did  the  heavy  work. 

In  the  spaces  between  the  lodges  were  their  drying- scaffolds  (Fig.  20), 
one  for  each  lodge,  which  were  nearly  as  conspicuous  in  the  distance  as  the 

‘The  war  post,  which  stood  in  the  center,  and  a number  of  stone  and  bone  implements  I brought 
away  with  me,  as  mementoes  of  the  place.  They  are  now  in  my  collection. 


MORGAN.  | 


MANDAN  SCAFFOLD  AND  LADDER, 


129 


houses  themselves.  They  were  about  twenty  feet  long,  twelve  feet 
and  seven  feet  high  to  the  flooring,  made  of  posts  set  upright,  with 
pieces  resting  in  forks  Other  poles  were  then  placed 
longitudinally,  upon  which  was  a flooring  of  willow  mats 
These  scaffolds,  mounted  with  ladders  (Fig.  21),  were 
used  for  drying  their  skins,  and  also  their  maize,  meat, 
and  vegetables. 

The  Indians  knew  the  use  of  the  ladder,  and  some 
of  them  made  an  excellent  article  before  the  discovery 
of  America.  When  Coronado  visited  and  captured  the 
seven  so-called  cities  of  Cibola  in  1540—1542,  he  found 
the  people  living  in  seven  or  eight  large  joint-tenement 


wide, 

cross- 


es 


Fig.  ‘21. — Marxian  ladder. 


houses,  each  capable  of  holding  about  a thousand  persons.  These  houses 
were  without  entrances  from  the  ground,  but  they  mounted  to  the  first  ter- 
race by  means  of  ladders,  and  so  to  each  successive  story  above.  “The 


130  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


ladders  which  they  have  for  their  houses,”  Coronado  says  in  his  relation, 
“are  all  in  a manner  movable  and  portable  as  ours  be.”1  The  ladders  at 
the  Mandan  village  were  made  of  two  limbs  growing  nearly  parallel  and 
severed  below  the  junction,  as  shown  in  the  figure,  and  set  with  the  forked 
end  upon  the  ground,  and  the  ends  against  the  scaffold.  Depressions  were 
sunk  in  the  rails  to  receive  the  rounds,  which  were  secured  by  rawhide 
strings.  They  were  usually  from  ten  to  twelve  feet  long,  and  one  or  two 
at  each  scaffold. 

Situated  thus  picturesquely  on  a bluff,  at  an  angle  of  the  river,  with 
houses  of  this  peculiar  model,  and  with  such  an  array  of  scaffolds  rising  up 
among  them,  the  village  was  strikingly  conspicuous  for  some  distance  both 
above  and  below  on  the  river,  and  presented  a remarkable  appearance. 

Afterwards,  at  the  present  Minnetaree  and  Mandan  vUlage,  about  sixty- 
five  miles  above  on  the  east  side  of  the  Missouri,  and  also  at  the  new 
Arickaree  village  on  the  west  side,  and  quite  near  it,  I had  an  opportunity 
to  see  houses  precisely  similar  to  those  described  in  actual  occupation  by  the 
Indians,  with  their  interior  arrangements  and  their  mode  of  life. 

A reference,  at  least,  should  be  made  to  the  Maricopas  and  Mohaves  of 
the  Lower  Colorado  River,  who,  although  village  Indians  of  the  pueblo  type, 
still  live  in  ordinary  communal  houses  of  the  northern  type,  which  are  thus 
described  by  General  Emory:  “They  (the  Maricopas)  occupy  thatched  cot- 
tages thirty  or  forty  feet  in  diameter,  made  of  twigs  of  cottonwood  trees,  inter- 
woven with  straw  of  wheat,  cornstalks,  and  cane.”2  Those  occupied  by  the 
Mohaves,  as  described  by  Captain  Sitgreave,  are  similar  in  character.3  The 
Pimas  of  the  Gila  River,  on  the  contrary,  claim  that  their  ancestors  erected 
houses  of  adobe  brick,  and  cultivated  by  irrigation.  They  point  to  the 
remains  of  ancient  structures  and  of  old  acequias  in  the  valley  of  the  Gila, 
as  Captain  Crossman  informs  us,  as  the  works  of  their  forefathers.  But 
now  their  condition  is  very  similar  to  that  of  the  Mohaves.  The  last-named 
writer  remarks  that  “generally  several  married  couples  with  their  children 
live  in  one  lmt.”4 

1 Hakluyt,  Coll,  of  Voyages,  London  ed.,  1812,  vol.  5,  p.  498. 

2 Notes,  &c.,  New  Mexico,  p.  132.  See  also  Bartlet’s  Personal  Narrative,  p.  230. 

3 Expedition,  &c.,  Znni  and  Colorado,  p.  19. 

4 Smithsonian  Report  for  1871,  p.  415. 


MORGAN.] 


HOUSES  OF  THE  MABICOPAS  AND  MOHAVES. 


131 


The  first  two  tribes,  although  their  antecedent  history  is  little  known, 
seem  to  be  in  a transitional  stage  from  the  Lower  to  the  Middle  Status  of 
barbarism,  having  passed  into  the  horticultural  and  sedentary  condition 
without  being  far  enough  advanced  to  imitate  their  near  neighbors  in  the 
use  of  adobe  brick  and  of  stone  in  their  houses.  They  seem  to  be  existing 
examples  of  that  ever-recurring  advancement  of  ruder  tribes  in  past  ages, 
through  which  the  A7illage  Indians  of  the  pueblo  type  were  constantly 
replenished  from  the  more  barbarous  tribes.  The  present  Taos  Indians  are 
another  example. 

It  is  made  reasonably  plain,  I think,  from  the  facts  stated,  that  in  the 
Upper  Status  of  savagery,  and  also  in  the  Lower  Status  of  barbarism,  the 
Indian  household  was  formed  of  a number  of  families  of  gentile  kin;  that 
they  practiced  communism  in  living  in  the  household,  and  that  this  principle 
found  expression  in  their  house  architecture  and  predetermined  its  character. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

HOUSES  OF  THE  SEDENTARY  INDIANS  OF  NEW  MEXICO. 


We  are  next  to  consider  the  houses  and  mode  of  - life  of  the  Sedentary 
Village  Indians,  among  whom  architecture  exhibits  a higher  development, 
with  the  use  of  durable  materials,  and  with  the  defensive  principle  super- 
added  to  that  of  adaptation  to  communism  in  living  It  will  not  be  difficult 
to  discover  and  follow  this  latter  principle,  as  one  of  the  chief  characteristics 
of  this  architecture  in  the  pueblo  houses  in  New  Mexico,  and  in  the  region  of 
the  San  Juan  River,  and  afterwards  in  those  of  Mexico  and  Central  America. 
Throughout  all  these  regions  there  was  one  connected  system  of  house 
architecture,  as  there  was  substantially  one  mode  of  life. 

In  New  Mexico,  going  southward,  the  Indians,  at  the  epoch  of  discov- 
ery, were  met  in  a new  dress  and  in  an  improved  condition.  They  had 
advanced  out  of  the  Lower  and  into  the  Middle  Status  of  barbarism ; the 
houses  in  which  they  dwelt  were  of  adobe  brick  or  of  stone,  two,  three, 
four,  and  sometimes  five  and  six  stories  in  height,  and  containing  from  fifty 
to  five  hundred  apartments.  They  cultivated  maize  and  plants  by  means 
of  irrigating  canals.  The  water  was  drawn  from  a running  stream,  taken 
at  a point  above  the  pueblo  and  carried  down  and  through  a series  of  garden 
beds.  They  wore  mantles  of  cotton,1  as  well  as  garments  of  skin.2 3  The 
present  Pueblo  Indians  of  New  Mexico  are  in  the  main  their  descendants. 
They  live,  some  of  them,  in  the  same  identical  houses  their  forefathers  occu- 
pied at  the  time  of  Coronado’s  expedition  to  New  Mexico  in  1541-1542,  as 

1 “ They  have  no  cotton-wool  growing,  because  the  country  is  cold,  yetthey  wear  mantles  thereof, 

as  your  honor  may  see  by  the  show  thereof ; and  true  it  is,  that  there  was  found  in  their  houses  certain 
yarn  made  of  cotton-wool.” — Coronado’s  Relation,  Hakluyt’s  Coll,  of  Voyages,  London  ed.,  1600,  iii,  377. 

3 “Their  garments  were  of  cotton  and  deerskins,  and  the  attire,  both  of  n en  and  women,  was 
after  the  manner  of  Indians  of  Mexico.  * * * Both  men  and  women  wore  shoes  and  boots,  with 

good  soles  of  neat’s  leather — a thing  never  seen  in  auy  part  of  the  Indies.” — Voyages  to  New  Mexico, 
by  Friar  Augustin  Rueyz,  a Franciscan,  in  1581,  and  Antonio  de  Espejo  in  1583,  Explorations  for 
Railroad  Route,  &c.,  Report  Indian  Tribes,  vol.  iii,  p.  114. 

13? 


MORGAN.] 


HOUSES  OF  TWO  OR  MORE  STORIES. 


133 


at  Acoma,  Jemez,  and  Taos,  and  although  their  plan  and  mode  of  life  have 
changed  in  some  respects  in  the  interval,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  they  remain 
to  this  day  a fair  sample  of  the  life  of  the  Village  Indians  from  Zuni  to 
Cuzco  as  it  existed  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  Indians  north  of  New  Mexico  did  not  construct  their  houses  more 
than  one  story  high,  or  of  more  durable  materials  than  a frame  of  poles  or 
of  timber  covered  with  matting  or  bark,  or  coated  over  with  earth.  A 
stockade  around  their  houses  was  their  principal  protection.  In  New  Mex- 
ico, going  southward,  are  met  for  the  first  time  houses  constructed  with 
several  stories.  Sun-dried  brick  must  have  come  into  use  earlier  than  stone. 
The  practice  of  the  ceramic  art  would  suggest  the  brick  sooner  or  later. 
At  all  events,  what  are  supposed  to  be  the  oldest  remains  of  architecture  in 
New  Mexico,  such  as  the  Casas  Grandes  of  the  Gila  and  Salinas  rivers,  are 
of  adobe  brick.  They  also  used  cobble-stone  with  adobe  mortar,  and 
finally  thin  pieces  of  tabular  sandstone,  prepared  by  fracture,  which  made 
a solid  and  durable  stone  wall.  Some  of  the  existing  pueblo  houses  in 
New  Mexico  are  as  old  as  the  expedition  of  Coronado  (1540-1542).  Oth- 
ers, constructed  since  that  event,  and  now  occupied,  are  of  the  aboriginal 
model.  There  are  at  present  about  twenty  of  these  pueblos  in  New  Mexico, 
inhabited  by  about  7,000  Village  Indians,  the  descendants  of  those  found 
there  by  Coronado.  They  are  still  living  substantially  under  their  ancient 
organization  and  usages  Besides  these,  there  are  seven  pueblos  of  the 
Molds,  near  the  Little  Colorado,  occupied  by  about  3,000  Indians,  who 
have  remained  undisturbed  to  the  present  time,  except  by  Roman  Catholic 
missionaries,  and  among  whom  the  entire  theory  of  life  of  the  Sedentary 
Village  Indians  may  yet  be  obtained.  These  Village  Indians  represent  at 
the  present  moment  the  type  of  life  found  from  Zutii  to  Cuzco  at  the  epoch 
of  the  Discovery,  and,  while  they  are  not  the  highest,  they  are  no  unfit 
representatives  of  the  entire  class. 

The  Yucatan  and  Central  American  Indians  were,  in  their  architecture, 
in  advance  of  the  remaining-  aborigines  of  North  America.  Next  to  them, 
probably,  were  the  Aztecs,  and  some  few  tribes  southward.  Holding  the 
third  position,  though  not  far  behind,  were  the  Village  Indians  of  New 
Mexico.  All  alike  they  depended  upon  horticulture  for  subsistence,  and 


134  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE  LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


cultivated  by  irrigation ; cotton  being  superadded  to  the  maize,  beans, 
squashes,  and  tobacco,  cultivated  by  the  northern  tribes.  * Their  houses, 
with  those  previously  described,  represent  together  an  original  indigenous 
architecture,  which,  with  its  diversities,  sprang  out  of  their  necessities.  Its 
fundamental  communal  type,  I repeat,  is  found  not  less  clearly  in  the  houses 
about  to  be  described,  and  in  the  so-called  palace  at  Palenque,  than  in  the 
long-house  of  the  Iroquois.  An  examination  of  the  plan  of  the  structures 
in  Mexico,  New  Mexico,  and  Central  America  will  tend  to  establish  the 
truth  of  this  proposition. 

New  Mexico  is  a poor  country  for  civilized  man,  but  quite  well  adapted 
to  Sedentary  Indians,  who  cultivate  about  one  acre  out  of  every  hundred 
thousand  This  region,  and  the  San  Juan,  immediately  north  of  it,  pos- 
sessed a number  of  narrow  fertile  valleys,  containing  together,  possibly, 
50,000  inhabitants,  and  it  is  occupied  now  by  their  descendants  (excepting 
the  San  Juan)  in  manner  and  form  as  it  was  then.  Each  pueblo  consisted 
either  of  a single  great  house,  or  of  three  or  four  such  houses  grouped 
together;  and  what  is  more  significant,  the  New  Mexican  pueblo  is  a fair 
type  of  those  now  found  in  ruins  in  Yucatan,  Chiapas,  Guatemala,  and 
Honduras,  in  general  plan  and  in  situation.  All  the  people  lived  together 
in  these  great  houses  on  terms  of  equality,  for  their  institutions  were  essen- 
tially democratical.  Common  tenements  for  common  Indians  around  these 
structures  were  not  found  there  by  Coronado  in  1541,  neither  have  any 
been  found  there  since.  There  is  not  the  slightest  ground  for  supposing 
that  any  such  tenements  ever  existed  around  those  in  Yucatan  and  Central 
America.  Every  structure  was  in  the  nature  of  a fortress,  showing1  the  in- 
security  in  which  they  lived. 

Since  the  year  1846,  the  date  of  the  conquest  of  New  Mexico,  a 
number  of  military  reconnaissances,  under  the  direction  of  the  War  Depart- 
ment, have  been  made  in  various  parts  of  the  Territory.  The  army  officers 
in  charge  devoted  their  chief  attention  to  the  physical  geography  and 
resources  of  the  regions  traversed ; but,  incidentally,  they  investigated  the 
pueblos  in  ruins,  and  the  present  condition  of  the  Pueblo  Indians.  The 
admirable  manner  in  which  they  have  executed  the  work  is  shown  by  the 
series  of  reports  issued  from  time  to  time  by  the  government.  More 


MORGAN.l 


PUEBLO  INDIANS  OF  NEW  MEXICO 


135 


recently,  the  Geological  and  Geographical  Survey  of  the  Territories,  under 
Prof.  F.  V.  Hayden,  geologist  in  charge,  and  also  the  Geographical  and  Geo- 
logical Survey  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Region,  May  J.  W.  Powell,  geologist 
in  charge,  have  furnished  a large  amount  of  additional  information  concern- 
ing the  ruins  on  the  San  Juan  and  its  tributaries,  the  Cliff  Houses  on  the 
Mancos  River  and  elsewhere,  and  the  Moki  Pueblos.  Valuable  as  this  infor- 
mation is  to  us,  it  falls  short  of  a full  exposition  of  these  several  subjects. 

At  the  time  of  Coronado’s  expedition  to  capture  the  Seven  Cities  of 
Cibola,  so  called  in  the  relations  of  the  period,  the  aborigines  of  New 
Mexico  manufactured  earthen  vessels  of  large  size  and  excellent  workman- 
ship, wove  cotton  fabrics  with  spun  thread,  cultivated  irrigated  gardens, 
were  armed  with  the  bow,  arrow,  and  shield,  wore  deer-skins  and  buffalo 
robes  and  also  cotton  mantles  as  external  garments,  and  had  domesticated 
the  wild  turkey.”1  “ They  had  hardly  provisions  enough  for  themselves,” 
remarks  Jaramillo  of  the  Cibolans,  “ and  what  they  had  consisted  of  maize, 
beans,  and  squashes.”2  What  was  true  of  the  Cibolans  in  this  respect  was 
doubtless  true  of  the  Sedentary  Indians  in  general.  Each  pueblo  was  an 
independent  organization  under  a council  of  chiefs,  except  as  several  con- 
tiguous pueblos,  speaking  dialects  of  the  same  language,  were  confederated 
for  mutual  protection,  of  which  the  seven  Cibolan  pueblos,  situated  proba- 
bly in  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Chaco,  within  an  extent  of  twelve  miles,  afford 
a fair  example.  The  degree  of  their  advancement  is  more  conspicuously 
shown  in  their  house  architecture. 

The  present  Village  Indians  of  New  Mexico,  or  at  least  some  of  them, 
still  manufacture  earthen  vessels,  and  spin  and  weave  cotton  fabrics  in  the 
aboriginal  manner,  and  live  in  houses  of  the  ancient  model.  Some  of  them, 
as  the  Molds  and  Lagunas,  are  organized  in  gentes,  and  governed  by  a 
council  of  chiefs,  each  village  being  independent  and  self-governing.  They 
observe  the  same  law  of  hospitality  universally  practiced  by  the  Northern 
Indians.  Upon  this  subject,  Mr.  David  J Miller,  of  Santa  Fd,  writes  as 
follows  to  the  author:  “A  visitor  to  one  of  their  houses  is  invariably  ten- 

1 “ We  found  here  Guinea  cocks  [turkeys],  hut  few.  The  Indians  tell  me  in  all  these  seven  cities 
that  they  eat  them  not,  hut  that  they  keep  them  only  for  their  feathers.  I believe  them  not,  for  they 
are  excellent  good,  and  greater  than  those  of  Mexico.” — Coronado  Rel.,  Hakluyt,  iii,377. 

2 Relation  of  Capt.  Juan  Jaramillo,  Coll.  Terneaux-Compans,  ix,  369, 


13(3  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMEEICAN  ABORIGINES. 

dered  its  hospitality  in  the  form  of  food  placed  before  him.  A failure  to 
tender  it  is  deemed  a grave  breach  of  hospitality  and  an  insult;  and  a 
declension  to  partake  of  it  would  be  regarded  as  a breach  of  etiquette.  As 
among  us,  they  have  their  rich  and  their  poor,  and  the  former  give  to  the 
latter  cheerfully  and  in  due  plenty.”  If  ere  we  find  a nearly  exact  repetition 
of  the  Iroquois  and  Mandan  rules  of  hospitality  before  given.  Whether 
or  not  they  formerly  practiced  communism  in  household  groups,  I am  not 
informed.  Their  houses  are  adapted  to  this  mode  of  life,  as  will  presently 
be  shown ; and  upon  that  fact  and  their  stage  of  social  advancement,  the 
deduction  of  the  practice  must  for  the  present  rest. 


JOINT  TENEMENT  HOUSES  OF  VILLAGE  INDIANS  IN  NEW  MEXICO. 

Santo  Domingo  is  composed  of  several  structures  of  adobe  brick 
grouped  together,  as  shown  in  the  engraving,  Fig.  22.  Each  is  about  two 
hundred  feet  long,  with  two  parallel  rows  of  apartments  on  the  ground,  of 
which  the  front  row  is  carried  up  one  story,  and  the  back  two;  the  flat  roof  of 
the  first  story  forming  a terrace  in  front  of  the  second.  The  first  story  is 
closed  up  solid  for  defensive  reasons,  with  the  exception  of  small  window 
openings.  The  first  terrace  is  reached  by  means  of  ladders  from  the  ground; 
the  rooms  in  the  first  story  are  entered  through  trap-doors  in  the  floors,  and  in 
the  second  through  doors  opening  upon  the  terrace,  and  also  through  trap- 
doors through  the  floors  which  form  the  roof.  These  structures  are  typical  of 
all  the  aboriginal  houses  in  New  Mexico.  They  show  two  principal  features: 
first,  the  terraced  form  of  architecture,  common  also  in  Mexico,  with  the 
house  tops  as  the  social  gathering  places  of  the  inmates;  and,  second-,  a 
closed  ground  story  for  safety.  Every  house,  therefore,  is  a fortress.  Lieu- 
tenant Abert  remarks  upon  one  of  the  houses  of  this  pueblo,  of  which  he  gives 
an  elevation,  that  “the  upper  story  is  narrower  than  the  one  below,  so  that 
there  is  a platform  or  landing  along  the  whole  length  of  the  building.  To 
enter,  you  ascend  to  the  platform  by  means  of  ladders  that  could  easily  be 
removed;  and,  as  there  is  a parapet  wall  extending  along  the  platform,  these 


MORGAN.] 


MRS.  STEVENSON’S  DESCRIPTION  OF  ZUSfl. 


137 


houses  could  be  converted  into  formidable  forts.”1  The  number  of  apart- 
ments in  each  house  is  not  stated.  The  different  houses  at  that  time  were 
inhabited  by  eight  hundred  Indians.  Chimneys  now  appear  above  the  roofs, 
the  fire-place  being  at  the  angle  of  the  chamber  in  front.  These  were  evi- 
dently of  later  introduction.  The  defensive  element,  so  prominent  in  this 
architecture,  was  not  so  much  to  protect  the  Village  Indians  from  each  other, 
as  from  the  attacks  of  migrating  bands  flowing  down  upon  them  from  the 
North.  The  pueblos  now  in  ruins  throughout  the  original  area  of  New 
Mexico,  and  for  some  distance  north  of  it,  testify  to  the  perpetual  struggle 
of  the  former  to  maintain  their  ground,  as  well  as  prove  the  insecurity  in 
which  they  lived.  It  could  be  shown  that  the  second  and  additional  stories 
were  suggested  by  the  defensive  principle. 

Zufii,  Fig.  23,  is  the  largest  occupied  pueblo  in  New  Mexico  at  the  pres- 
ent time.  It  probably  once  contained  five  thousand  inhabitants,  but  in  1851 
the  number  was  reduced  to  fifteen  hundred  The  village  consists  of  several 
structures,  most  of  them  accessible  to  each  from  their  roof  terraces.  They 
are  constructed  of  adobe  brick,  and  of  stone  embedded  in  adobe  mortar,  and 
plastered  over. 

In  the  summer  of  1879,  Mr.  James  Stevenson,  in  charge  of  the  field 
parties  under  Major  Powell,  made  an  extended  visit  to  Zufii  and  the  neigh- 
boring pueblos,  for  the  purpose  of  making  collections  of  their  implements, 
utensils,  etc.,  during  which  time  the  photographs  from  which  the  accompa- 
nying illustrations  of  the  pueblos  were  made.  His  wife  accompanied  him, 
and  she  has  furnished  us  the  following  description  of  that  pueblo  : 

“Zuni  is  situated  in  Western  New  Mexico,  being  built  upon  a knoll 
covering  about  fifteen  acres,  and  some  forty  feet  above  the  right  bank  of 
the  river  of  the  same  name. 

“Their  extreme  exclusiveness  has  preserved  to  the  Zunians  their  strong 
individuality,  and  kept  their  language  pure.  According  to  Major  Powell’s 
classification,  their  speech  forms  one  of  four  linguistic  stocks  to  which  may 
be  traced  all  the  pueblo  dialects  of  the  southwest.  In  all  the  large  area 
which  was  once  thickly  dotted  with  settlements,  only  thirty-one  remain, 
and  these  are  scattered  hundreds  of  miles  apart  from  Taos,  in  Northern  New 


JEx.  Doc.  No.  41, 1st  session  30th  Congress,  1848,  p.  4G2. 


188  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  APjOEIGINES. 


Mexico,  to  Isleta,  in  Western  Texas.  Among  these  remnants  of  great  native 
tribes,  the  Zunians  may  claim  perhaps  the  highest  position,  whether  we 
regard  simply  their  agricultural  and  pastoral  pursuits,  or  consider  their  whole 
social  and  political  organization. 

“The  town  of  Zufli  is  built  in  the  most  curious  style.  It  resembles  a 
great  beehive,  with  the  houses  piled  one  upon  another  in  a succession  of 
terraces,  the  roof  of  one  forming  the  floor  or  yard  of  the  next  above,  and 
so  on,  until  in  some  cases  five  tiers  of  dwellings  are  successively  erected, 
though  no  one  of  them  is  over  two  stories  high.  These  structures  are  of 
stone  and  ‘adobe.’  They  are  clustered  around  two  plazas,  or  open  squares, 
with  several  streets  and  three  covered  ways  through  the  town. 

“The  upper  houses  of  Zuni  are  reached  by  ladders  from  the  outside. 
The  lower  tiers  have  doors  on  the  ground  plan,  while  the  entrances  to  the 
others  are  from  the  terraces.  There  is  a second  entrance  through  hatch- 
ways in  the  roof,  and  thence  by  ladders  down  into  the  rooms  below.  In 
many  of  the  pueblos  there  are  no  doors  whatever  on  the  ground  floor,  but 
the  Zunians  assert  that  their  lowermost  houses  have  always  been  provided 
with  such  openings  In  times  of  threatened  attack  the  ladders  were  either 
drawn  up  or  their  rungs  were  removed,  and  the  lower  doors  were  securely 
fastened  in  some  of  the  many  ingenious  ways  these  people  have  of  barring 
the  entrances  to  their  dwellings.  The  houses  have  small  windows,  in  which 
mica  was  originally  used,  and  is  still  employed  to  some  extent;  but  the 
Zunians  prize  glass  highly,  and  secure  it,  whenever  practicable,  at  almost 
any  cost  A dwelling  of  average  capacity  has  four  or  live  rooms,  though 
in  some  there  are  as  many  as  eight  Some  of  the  larger  apartments  are 
paved  with  flagging,  but  the  floors  are  usually  plastered  with  clay,  like  the 
walls  Both  are  kept  in  constant  repair  by  the  women,  who  mix  a reddish- 
brown  earth  with  water  to  the  proper  consistency,  and  then  spread  it  by 
hand,  always  laying  it  on  in  semicircles.  It  dries  smooth  and  even,  and 
looks  well.  In  working  this  plaster  the  squaw  keeps  her  mouth  tilled  with 
water,  which  is  applied  with  all  the  dexterity  with  which  a Chinese  laundry- 
man  sprinkles  clothes.  The  women  appear  to  delight  in  this  work,  which 
they  consider  their  special  prerogative,  and  would  feel  that  their  rights  were 
infringed  upon  were  men  to  do  it.  In  building,  the  men  lay  the  stone  foun- 
dations and  set  in  place  the  huge  logs  that  serve  as  beams  to  support  the 


MORGAN.] 


DESCRIPTION  OF  ZUNI  CONTINUED. 


139 


roof,  the  spaces  between  these  rafters  being-  tilled  with  willow-brush;  though 
some  of  the  wealthier  Zuuians  use  instead  shingles  made  by  the  carpenters 
of  the  village  The  women  then  finish  the  structure.  The  ceilings  of  all 
the  older  houses  are  low;  but  Zuni  architecture  has  improved,  and  the 
modern  style  gives  plenty  of  room,  with  doors  through  which  one  may  pass 
without  stooping.  The  inner  walls  are  usually  whitened.  For  this  pur- 
pose a kind  of  white  clay  is  dissolved  in  boiling  water  and  applied  by  hand. 
A glove  of  undressed  goat-skin  is  worn,  the  hand  being  dipped  in  the  hot 
liquid  and  then  passed  repeatedly  over  the  wall. 

“In  Z uni,  as  elsewhere,  riches  and  official  position  confer  importance 
upon  their  possessors.  The  wealthy  class  live  in  the  lower  houses,  those  of 
moderate  means  next  above,  while  the  poorer  families  have  to  be  content 
with  the  uppermost  stories.  Naturally  no  one  will  climb  into  the  garret 
who  has  the  means  of  securing  more  convenient  apartments,  under  the  huge 
system  of  “French  flats,”  which  is  the  way  of  living  in  Zuni.  Still  there 
is  little  or  no  social  distinction  in  the  rude  civilization,  the  whole  population 
of  the  town  living  almost  as  one  family.  The  Alcalde,  or  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor, furnishes  an  exception  to  the  general  rule,  as  his  official  duties 
require  him  to  occupy  the  highest  house  of  all,  from  the  top  of  which  he 
announces  each  morning  to  the  people  the  orders  of  the  Governor,  and 
makes  such  other  proclamation  as  may  be  required  of  him. 

“Each  family  has  one  room,  generally  the  largest  in  the  house,  where 
they  work,  eat,  and  sleep  together.  In  this  room  the  wardrobe  of  the 
family  bangs  upon  a log  suspended  beneath  the  rafters,  only  the  more 
valued  robes,  such  as  those  worn  in  the  dance,  being  wrapped  and  carefully 
stored  away  in  another  apartment.  Work  of  all  kinds  goes  on  in  this  large 
room,  including  the  cookery,  which  is  done  in  a fire-place  on  the  long  side, 
made  by  a projection  at  right  angles  with  the  wall,  with  a mantel-piece  on 
which  rests  the  base  of  the  chimney.  Another  fire-place  in  a second  room 
is  from  six  to  eight  feet  in  width,  and  above  this  is  a ledge  shaped  some- 
what like  a Chinese  awning.  A highly-polished  slab,  fifteen  or  twenty 
inches  in  size,  is  raised  a foot  above  the  hearth.  Coals  are  heaped  beneath 
this  slab,  and  upon  it  the  Waiavi  is  baked.  This  delicious  kind  of  bread  is 
made  of  meal  ground  finely  and  spread  in  a thin  batter  upon  the  stone 
with  the  naked  hand.  It  is  as  thin  as  a wafer,  and  these  crisp,  gauzy 


140  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


sheets,  when  cooked,  are  piled  in  layers  and  then  folded  or  rolled.  Light 
bread,  which  is  made  only  at  feast  times,  is  baked  in  adobe  ovens  outside 
the  house  When  not  in  use  for  this  purpose  the  ovens  make  convenient 
kennels  for  the  dogs  and  play-houses  for  the  children.  Neatness  is  not  one 
of  the  characteristics  of  the  Zunians.  In  the  late  autumn  and  winter 
months  the  women  do  little  else  than  make  bread,  often  in  fanciful  shapes, 
for  the  feasts  and  dances  which  continually  occur.  A sweet  drink,  not  at 
all  intoxicating,  is  made  from  the  sprouted  wheat.  The  men  use  tobacco, 
procured  from  white  traders,  in  the  form  of  cigarettes  from  corn-husks;  but 
this  is  a luxury  in  which  the  women  do  not  indulge. 

“ The  Pueblo  mills  are  among  the  most  interesting  things  about  the 
town.  These  mills,  which  are  fastened  to  the  floor  a few  feet  from  the 
wall,  are  rectangular  in  shape,  and  divided  into  a number  of  compartments, 
each  about  twenty  inches  wide  and  deep,  the  whole  series  ranging  from  five 
to  ten  feet  in  length,  according  to  the  number  of  divisions.  The  walls  are 
made  of  sandstone.  In  each  compartment  a flat  grinding  stone  is  firmly 
set,  inclining  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees  These  slabs  are  of  different 
degrees  of  smoothness,  graduated  successively  from  coarse  to  fine.  The 
squaws,  who  alone  work  at  the  mills,  kneel  before  them  and  bend  over 
them  as  a laundress  does  over  the  wash-tub,  holding  in  their  hands  long 
stones  of  volcanic  lava,  which  they  rub  up  and  down  the  slanting  slabs, 
stopping  at  intervals  to  place  the  grain  between  the  stones  As  the  grind- 
ing proceeds  the  grist  is  passed  from  one  compartment  to  the  next  until,  in 
passing  through  the  series,  it  becomes  of  the  desired  fineness.  This  tedious 
and  laborious  method  has  been  practiced  without  improvement  from  time 
immemorial,  and  in  some  of  the  arts  the  Zunians  have  actually  retrograded  ” 

The  living-rooms  are  about  twelve  by  eighteen  feet  and  about  nine 
feet  high,  with  plastered  walls  and  an  earthen  floor,  and  usually  a single 
window  opening  for  light.  To  form  a durable  ceiling  round  timbers  about 
six  inches  in  diameter  are  placed  three  or  four  feet  apart  from  the  outer  to 
the  inner  wall.  Upon  these,  poles  are  placed  transversely  in  juxtaposition. 
A deep  covering  of  adobe  mortar  is  placed  upon  them,  forming  the  roof 
terrace  in  front,  and  the  floor  in  the  apartments  above  in  the  receding 
second  story.  Water-jars  of  their  own  manufacture,  of  fine  workmanship, 
and  holding  several  gallons,  closely  woven  osier  baskets  of  their  own  make, 


Fig.  24. — Room  in  Zuiu  House. 


MOEGAX.J 


ONE  OF  THE  MOKI  PEEBLES. 


141 


and  blankets  of  cotton  and  wool,  woven  by  tbeir  own  hand-looms,  are  among 
the  objects  seen  in  these  apartments.  They  are  neatly  kept,  roomy  and  com- 
fortable, and  differ  in  no  respect  from  those  in  use  at  the  period  of  the  con- 
quest, as  will  elsewhere  be  shown.  The  mesa  elevation  upon  which  the  old 
town  of  Zufii  was  situated  is  seen  in  the  background  of  the  engraving,  Fig.  23. 

It  should  be  noticed  that  this  architecture,  and  the  necessities  that  gave 
it  birth,  led  to  a change  in  the  mode  of  life  from  the  open  ground  to  the 
terraces  or  flat  roofs  of  these  great  houses.  When  not  engaged  in  tillage, 
the  terraces  were  the  gathering  and  living  places  of  the  people.  During 
the  greater  part  of  the  year  they  lived  practically  in  the  open  air,  to  which 
the  climate  was  adapted,  and  upon  their  housetops,  first  for  safety  and 
afterwards  from  habit. 

Elevations  of  the  principal  pueblos  of  New  Mexico  have  from  time  to 
time  been  published.  They  agree  in  general  plan,  but  show  considerable 
diversity  in  details.  Rude  but  massive  structures,  they  accommodated  all 
the  people  of  the  village  in  security  within  their  walls. 

The  Mold  Pueblos  are  supposed  to  be  the  towns  of  Tusayan,  visited 
by  a detachment  of  Coronado’s  expedition  in  1541.  Since  the  acquisition 
of  New  Mexico  they  have  been  rarely  visited,  because  of  their  isolation 
and  distance  from  American  settlements. 

The  accompanying  illustration  of  Wolpi,  Fig.  25,  one  of  these  pueb- 
los, is  from  a photograph  taken  by  Major  Powell’s  party. 

In  1858  Lieut.  Joseph  C.  Ives,  in  command  of  the  Colorado  Exploring 
Expedition,  visited  the  Mold  Pueblos,  near  the  Little  Colorado.  They  are 
seven  in  number,  situated  upon  mesa  elevations  within  an  extent  of  ten 
miles,  difficult  of  access,  and  constructed  of  stone.  Mi-shong'-i-ni'-vi,  the  first 
one  entered,  is  thus  described.  After  ascending  the  rugged  sides  of  the 
mesa  by  a flight  of  stone  steps,  Lieutenant  Ives  remarks  : “ We  came  upon 
a level  summit,  and  had  the  walls  of  the  pueblo  on  one  side  and  an  exten- 
sive and  beautiful  view  upen  the  other.  Without  giving  us  time  to  admire 
the  scene,  the  Indians  led  us  to  a ladder  planted  against  the  front  face  of  the 
pueblo.  The  town  is  nearly  square,  and  surrounded  by  a stone  wall  fifteen 
feet  high,  the  top  of  which  forms  a landing  extending  around  the  whole. 
Flights  of  stone  steps  led  from  the  first  to  a second  landing,  upon  which  the 
doors  of  the  houses  open.  Mounting  the  stairway  opposite  to  the  ladder, 


142  DOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABOIHGINES. 


the  chief  crossed  to  the  nearest  door  and  ushered  us  into  a low  apartment, 
from  which  two  or  three  others  opened  towards  the  interior  of  the  dwelling. 
Our  host  courteously  asked  us  to  be  seated  upon  some  skins  spread  along 
the  floor  against  the  wall,  and  presently  his  wife  brought  in  a vase  of  water 
and  a tray  filled  with  a singular  substance  (tortillas),  that  looked  more  like 
a sheet  of  thin  blue  wrapping  paper  than  anything  else  I had  ever  seen.  I 
learned  afterwards  that  it  was  made  from  corn  meal,  ground  very  fine,  made 
into  a gruel,  and  poured  over  a heated  stone  to  be  baked.  When  dry  it 
has  a surface  slightly  polished,  like  paper.  The  sheets  are  folded  and 
rolled  together,  and  form  the  staple  article  of  food  of  the  Mold  Indians. 
As  the  dish  was  intended  for  our  entertainment,  and  looked  clean,  we  all 
partook  of  it.  It  has  a delicate  fresh-bread  flavor,  and  was  not  at  all  un- 
palatable, particularly  when  eaten  with  salt.  * * * The  room  was 

fifteen  feet  by  ten  ; the  walls  were  made  of  adobes  ; the  partitions  of  sub- 
stantial beams ; the  floors  laid  with  clay.  In  one  corner  were  a fire-place 
and  chimney.  Everything  was  clean  and  tidy.  Skins,  bows  and  arrows, 
quivers,  antlers,  blankets,  articles  of  clothing  and  ornament  were  hanging 
upon  the  walls  or  arranged  upon  the  shelves.  At  the  other  end  was  a 
trough  divided  into  compartments,  in  each  of  which  was  a sloping  stone 
slab,  two  or  three  feet  square,  for  grinding  corn  upon.  In  a recess  of  an 
inner  room  was  piled  a goodly  store  of  corn  in  the  ear.  * * * Another 

inner  room  appeared  to  be  a sleeping  apartment,  but  this  being  occupied  by 
females  we  did  not  enter,  though  the  Indians  seemed  to  be  pleased  rather 
than  otherwise  at  the  curiosity  evinced  during  the  close  inspection  of  their 
dwelling  and  furniture.  * * * Then  we  went  out  upon  the  landing, 

and  by  another  flight  of  steps  ascended  to  the  roof,  where  we  beheld  a mag- 
nificent panorama.  * * * We  learned  that  there  were  seven  towns. 

* * * Each  pueblo  is  built  around  a rectangular  court,  in  which  we 

suppose  are  the  springs  that  furnish  the  supply  to  the  reservoirs.  The 
exterior  walls,  which  are  of  stone,  have  no  openings,  and  would  have  to  be 
scaled  or  battered  down  before  access  could  be  gained  to  the  interior.  The 
successive  stories  are  set  back,  one  behind  the  other.  The  lower  rooms  are 
reached  through  trap-doors  from  the  first  landing.  The  houses  are  three 
rooms  deep,  and  open  upon  the  interior  court.  The  arrangement  is  as 


MORGAN.] 


ROOM  IX  MOKI  HOUSE. 


143 


strong  and  compact  as  could  well  be  devised,  but  as  the  court  is  common, 
and  the  landings  are  separated  by  no  partitions,  it  involves  a certain  com- 
munity of  residence.”1 

This  account  leaves  a doubt  whether  the  stories  receded  from  the 
inclosed  court  outward,  or  from  the  exterior  inward.  Lieutenant  Ives  does 
not  state  that  he  passed  through  the  building  into  the  court  and  ascended 
to  the  first  platform  from  within,  and  yet  tl le  remainder  of  the  description 
seems  to  imply  that  he  did,  and  that  the  structure  occupied  but  three  sides 
of  the  court,  since  he  states  that  “the  houses  are  three  rooms  deep  and 
open  upon  the  interior  court.”  The  structure  was  three  stories  high. 


Fig.  26. — Room  in  Mold  House. 

Idie  above  engraving  was  prepared  for  an  article  by  Maj.  Powell,  on 
these  Indians.  Two  rooms  are  shown  together,  apparently  by  leaving  out 
the  wooden  partition  which  separated  them,  showing  an  extent  of  at  least 

thirty  feet.  The  large  earthen  water-jars  are  interesting  specimens  of  Moki 

« 

] Colorado  Exploring  Expedition,  p.  121. 


144  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


pottery.  At  one  side  is  the  hand  mill  for  grinding  maize.  The  walls  are 
ornamented  with  bows,  quivers,  and  the  floor  with  water-jars,  as  described 
by  Lieutenant  Ives. 

In  places  on  the  sides  of  the  bluffs  at  this  and  other  pueblos,  Lieuten- 
ant Ives  observed  gardens  cultivated  by  irrigation.  “Between  the  two,” 
he  remarks,  “the  faces  of  the  bluff  have  been  ingeniously  converted  into 
terraces.  These  were  faced  with  neat  masonry,  and  contained  gardens, 
each  surrounded  with  a raised  edge  so  as  to  retain  water  upon  the  surface. 
Pipes  from  the  reservoirs  permitted  them  at  any  time  to  be  irrigated.”1 

Fig.  27  shows  one  of  two  large  adobe  structures  constituting  the  pueblo 
of  Taos,  in  New  Mexico.  It  is  from  a photograph  taken  by7  the  expedition 
under  Major  Powell  It  is  situated  upon  Taos  Creek,  at  the  western  base 
of  the  Sierra  Madre  Bange,  which  forms  the  eastern  border  of  the  broad 
valley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  into  which  the  Taos  stream  runs.  It  is  an  old 
and  irregular  building,  and  is  supposed  to  be  the  Braba  of  Coronado’s 
expedition.2 *  Some  ruins  still  remain,  quite  near,  of  a still  older  pueblo, 
whose  inhabitants,  the  Taos  Indians  affirm,  theyT  conquered  and  dispossessed. 
The  two  structures  stand  about  twentyT-five  rods  apart,  on  opposite  sides  of 
the  stream,  and  facing  each  other.  That  upon  the  north  side,  represented 
in  the  above  engraving,  is  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long,  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  feet  deep,  and  five  stories  high;  that  upon  the  south  side  is 
shorter  and  deeper,  and  six  stories  high.  The  present  population  of  the 
pueblo,  about  four  hundred,  are  divided  between  the  two  houses,  and  they 
are  a thrifty,  industrious,  and  intelligent  people.  Upon  the  east  side  is  a 
long  adobe  wall,  connecting  the  two  buildings,  or  rather  protecting  the  open 
space  between  them.  A corresponding  wall,  doubtless,  closed  the  space  on 
the  opposite  side,  thus  forming  a large  court  between  the  buildings,  but,  if 
so,  it  has  now  disappeared.  The  creek  is  bordered  on  both  sides  with  ample 
fields  or  gardens,  which  are  irrigated  by  canals,  drawing  water  from  the 
stream.  The  adobe  is  of  a yrellowish-brown  color,  and  the  two  structures 
make  a striking  appearance  as  they  are  approached.  Fire-places  and  chim- 
neys have  been  added  to  the  principal  room  of  each  family;  but  it  is  evident 

1 Colorado  Exploring  Expedition,  p.  120. 

2 Relation  of  Castenada,  Coll.  H.  Temaeux-Compans.  ix,  138.  Trans,  of  American  Ethnological 

Society. 


MORGAN.  ] 


PUEBLO  OF  TAOS. 


145 


that  they  are  modern,  and  that  the  suggestion  came  from  Spanish  sources. 
They  are  constructed  in  the  corner  of  the  room.  The  first  story  is  built  up 
solid,  and  those  above  recede  in  the  terraced  form.  Ladders  planted  against 
the  walls  show  the  manner  in  which  the  several  stories  are  reached,  and, 
with  a few  exceptions,  the  rooms  are  entered  through  trap-doors  by  means  of 
ladders.  Children  and  even  dogs  run  up  and  down  these  ladders  with  great 
freedom.  The  lower  rooms  are  used  for  storage  and  granaries,  and  the 
upper  for  living  rooms;  the  families  in  the  rooms  above  owning  and  con- 
trolling the  rooms  below.  The  pueblo  has  its  chiefs. 

The  measurements  of  the  two  edifices  were  furnished  to  the  writer  in 
1864  by  Mr.  John  Ward,  at  that  time  a government  Indian  agent,  by  the 
procurement  of  Dr.  M.  Steck,  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  in  New 
Mexico  Among  further  particulars  given  by  Mr.  Ward  are  the  following: 
“The  thickness  of  the  walls  of  these  houses  depends  entirely  upon  the  size 
of  the  adobe  and  the  way  in  which  it  is  laid  upon  the  wall ; that  is,  whether 
lengthwise  or  crosswise.  There  is  no  particular  standard  for  the  size  of  the 
adobes.  On  the  buildings  in  question  the  adobes  on  the  upper  stories  are  laid 
lengthwise,  and  will  average  about  ten  inches  in  width,  which  gives  the 
thickness  of  the  walls.  On  the  first  story  or  ground  rooms  the  adobes  are  in 
most  places  laid  crosswise,  thus  making  the  thickness  of  these  walls  just  the 
length  of  the  adobe , which  averages  about  twenty  inches.  The  width  of  an 
adobe  is  usually  one-half  its  length,  and  the  thickness  will  average  about 
four  inches.  The  floors  and  roofs  are  coated  with  mud  mortar  from  four  to 
six  inches  thick,  which  is  laid  on  and  smoothed  over  with  the  hand.  This 
work  is  usually  performed  by  women.  When  the  right  kind  of  earth  can 
be  obtained  the  floor  can  be  made  very  hard  and  smooth,  and  will  last  a 
very  long  time  without  needing  repairs  The  walls  both  inside  and  out  are 
coated  in  the  same  manner.  On  the  inside,  however,  more  care  is  taken 
to  make  the  walls  as  even  and  smooth  as  possible,  after  which  they  are 
whitewashed  with  yesso  or  gypsum.” 

Several  rooms  on  the  ground  floor  were  measured  by  Mr.  Ward  and 
found  to  be,  in  feet,  14  by  18,  20  by  22,  and  24  by  27,  with  a height  of 
ceiling  averaging  from  7 to  8 feet.  In  the  second  story  they  measured,  in 
feet,  14  by  23,  12  by  20,  and  15  by  20,  with  a height  of  ceiling  varying 
10 


146  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


from  7 to  feet.  The  rooms  in  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  stories  were 
found  to  diminish  in  size  with  eacdi  story.  There  is  probably  a mistake 
here,  as  the  main  longitudinal  partition  walls  must  have  been  carried  up  upon 
each  other  from  bottom  to  top.  A few  of  the  doorways  were  measured 
and  found  to  range  from  2f  feet  wide  by  4f  feet  high  and  2 J feet  wide  by 
4™  feet  high.  'The  scuttles  or  trap-doors  in  the  floors,  through  which  they 
descended  into  these  rooms  by  means  of  ladders,  were  3 feet  by  2 3 feet 

by  2,  and  1™  by  2|  feet;  and  the  window  openings  through  the  walls  were, 
in  inches,  14  by  14,  8 by  16,  16  by  20,  and  18  by  18. 

Mr.  Ward  then  proceeds  : “No  room  has  more  than  two  windows;  very 
few  have  more  than  one.  The  back  rooms  usually  have  one  or  more  round 
holes  made  through  the  walls  from  six  to  eight  inches  in  diameter.  These 
openings  furnish  the  apartments  with  a scanty  supply  of  light  and  air.  The 
first  story  or  the  ground  rooms  are  usually  without  doors  or  windows,  the 
only  entrance  being  through  the  scuttle-holes  or  doors  in  the  roof,  which 
are  within  the  rooms  comprising  the  story  immediately  above.  These  base- 
ment rooms  are  used  for  store-rooms.  Those  in  the  upper  stories  are  the 
rooms  mostly  inhabited.  Those  located  in  the  front  part  of  the  building 
receive  their  light  through  the  doors  and  windows  before  described.  The 
back  rooms  have  no  other  light  than  that  which  goes  in  through  the  scuttle- 
holes  and  the  partition  walls  leading  from  the  front  rooms;  that  is,  where  a 
room  is  so  situated  as  to  have  both.  Others  again  have  no  other  light  than 
that  which  enters  through  the  holes  already  described.  Such  rooms  are 
always  gloomy.  Some  families  have  as  many  as  four  or  five  rooms,  one  of 
which  is  set  apart  for  cooking,  and  is  furnished  with  a large  fire-place  for 
the  purpose.  Those  who  have  only  two  or  three  rooms  usually  cook  and 
sleep  in  the  same  apartment,  and  in  such  cases  they  cook  in  the  usual  fire- 
place, which  stands  in  one  corner  of  the  room.  No  perceptible  addition 
has  been  made  to  either  of  the  buildings  for  many  years;  and  it  is  evident 
that  after  the  death  or  removal  of  their  owners  they  were  entirely  neg- 
lected. Those  in  good  condition  are  still  occupied.  From  the  best  infor- 
mation attainable  the  original  buildings  were  not  erected  all  at  one  time, 
but  were  added  to  from  time  to  time  by  additional  rooms,  including  the 
second,  third,  and  more  stories.  There  are  no  regular  terraces,  the  roof  of 


MORGAN.] 


ORGANIZATION  OP  TAOS  INDIANS. 


147 


the  rooms  below  answering  that  purpose.  Thus  it  is  that  no  entire  circuit 
can  be  made  around  any  one  of  these  stories,  the  only  thing  that  can  be 
called  a terrace  being  the  narrow  space  left  in  front  of  some  of  the  rooms 
from  the  roofs  of  the  lower  rooms.” 

Mr.  Ward  seems  to  object  to  the  word  “terrace”  in  defining  the  plat- 
form left  in  front  of  each  story  as  a means  of  access  to  its  apartments  and 
to  the  successive  stories.  It  was  used  by  the  early  Spanish  writers  to 
explain  the  same  peculiarity  found  in  many  of  the  great  houses  in  the 
pueblo  of  Mexico  and  elsewhere  over  Mexico,  the  roofs  being  fiat  and  the 
stories  receding  from  each  other.  While  this  platform  is  not  in  strictness  a 
terrace,  the  term  expresses  this  architectural  feature  with  sufficient  clear- 
ness. The  two  structures  at  Taos  are  large  enough  to  accommodate  five 
hundred  persons  in  each,  the  inmates  living  in  the  Indian  fashion.  They 
were  occupied  in  1864  by  three  hundred  and  sixty-one  Taos  Indians. 

“ Each  terrace  is  reached,”  remarks  Mr.  Miller  before  mentioned,  speak- 
ing of  the  pueblos  in  general,  “by  a wooden  ladder,  first  from  the  ground 
and  afterward  from  the  one  below;  and  ingress  and  egress  to  and  from  the 
rooms  below  is  on  the  inside  in  the  room  above  through  trap-doors  and 
upon  ladders.  It  is  wonderful  to  see  with  what  agility  the  Indian  children 
and  the  dogs  run  up  and  down  these  ladders.  Nowhere  is  there  any  side 
communication  between  the  rooms  in  the  great  building,  and  but  one  family 
occupy  each  series  of  rooms  situated  one  above  the  other.”  This  last  state- 
ment is  too  broadly  made,  as  we  have  seen  that  Mr.  Ward  has  given  the 
measurements  of  doors  through  partition  walls.  Such  doors  will  also  be 
shown  in  a subsequent  engraving.  But  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  fact  that 
the  number  of  lateral  rooms  communicating  with  each  other  was  small,  and 
that  the  families  or  groups,  if  such  existed,  united  in  a communal  house- 
hold, were  separated  from  each  other  by  solid  partition  walls,  a fact  which 
will  reappear  in  the  house-architecture  of  Yucatan. 

In  1877,  David  J.  Miller,  esq.,  of  Santa  Fe,  visited  the  Taos  Pueblo 
at  my  request,  to  make  some  further  investigations.  He  reports  to  me  the 
following  facts:  The  government  is  composed  of  the  following  persons,  all 
of  whom,  except  the  first,  are  elected  annually:  1.  A cacique  or  principal 
sachem  2.  A governor  or  alcalde.  3.  A lieutenant-governor.  4.  A war 


148  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


captain,  and  a lieutenant  war  captain.  5.  Six  fiscals  or  policemen.  “The 
cacique,”  Mr.  Miller  says,  “has  the  general  control  of  all  officers  in  the  per- 
formance of  their  duties,  transacts  the  business  of  the  pueblo  with  the  sur- 
rounding whites,  Indian  agents,  etc.,  and  imposes  reprimands  or  severer 
punishments  upon  delinquents.  He  is  keeper  of  the  archives  of  the  pueblo; 
for  example,  he  has  in  his  keeping  the  United  States  patent  for  the  tract  of 
four  square  leagues  on  which  the  pueblo  stands,  which  was  based  upon  the 
Spanish  grant  of  1G8D;  also  deeds  of  other  purchased  lands  adjoining  the 
pueblo.  He  holds  his  office  for  life.  At  his  death,  the  people  elect  his  suc- 
cessor. The  cacique  may,  before  his  death,  name  his  successor,  but  the 
nomination  must  be  ratified  by  the  people  represented  by  their  principal 
men  assembled  in  the  estufa.”  In  this  cacique  may  be  recognized  the 
sachem  of  the  northern  tribes,  whose  duties  were  purely  of  a civil  charac- 
ter. Mr.  Miller  does  not  define  the  duties  of  the  governor.  They  were 
probably  judicial,  and  included  an  oversight  of  the  property  rights  of  the 
people  in  their  cultivated  lands,  and  in  rooms  or  sections  of  the  pueblo 
houses.  “The  lieutenant-governor,”  he  remarks,  “is  the  sheriff  to  receive 
and  execute  orders.  The  war  captain  has  twelve  subordinates  under  his 
command  to  police  the  pueblo,  and  supervise  the  public  grounds,”  such  as 
grazing  lands,  the  cemetery,  estufas,  &c.  The  lieutenant  war  captain  exe- 
cutes the  orders  of  his  principal,  and  officiates  for  him  during  his  absence, 
or  in  case  of  his  disability.  The  six  fiscals  are  a kind  of  town  police.  It 
is  their  duty  to  see  that  the  catechism  (Catholic)  is  taught  in  the  pueblo, 
and  learned  by  the  children,  and  generally  to  keep  order  and  execute  the 
municipal  regulations  of  the  pueblo  under  the  direction  of  the  governor, 
who  is  charged  with  the  duty  of  seeing  to  their  execution.” 

“The  regular  time  for  meeting  in  the  estufa  is  the  last  day  of  Decem- 
ber, annually,  for  the  election  of  officers  for  the  ensuing  year.  The  cacique, 
governor,  and  principal  men  nominate  candidates,  and  the  election  decides. 
There  may  also  be  a fourth  nomination  of  candidates,  that  is,  by  the  people. 
In  the  election,  all  adult  males  vote;  the  officers  first,  and  then  the  general 
public.  The  officers  elected  are  at  the  present  time  sworn  in  by  the  United 
States  Territorial  officials.” 

In  this  simple  government  we  have  a fair  sample,  in  substance  and  in 


Fig.  28. — Room  in  Pueblo  of  Taos. 


/ 


■ 


MORGAN.] 


RIGHTS  IN  LANDS. 


149 


spirit,  of  the  ancient  government  of  the  Pueblo  Indians  of  New  Mexico. 
Some  modification  of  the  old  system  may  be  detected  in  the  limitation  of 
officers  below  the  grade  of  cacique  to  one  year.  From  what  is  known  of  the 
other  pueblos  in  New  Mexico,  that  of  Taos  is  a fair  example  of  all  of  them  in 
governmental  organization  at  the  present  time.  They  are,  and  always  were, 
essentially  republican,  which  is  in  entire  harmony  with  Indian  institutions. 
I may  repeat  here  what  I have  ventured  to  assert  on  previous  occasions,  that 
the  whole  theory  of  governmental  and  domestic  life  among  the  Village  Indi- 
ans of  America  from  Zuni  to  Cuzco  can  still  be  found  in  New  Mexico. 

The  representation  of  a room  in  this  pueblo,  Fig.  28,  is  from  a sketch 
by  Mr.  Galbraith,  who  accompanied  Major  Powell’s  party  to  New  Mexico. 

What  Mr.  Miller  refers  to  as  “property  rights  and  titles”  and  “owner- 
ship in  fee  ” of  land,  is  sufficiently  explained  by  the  possessory  right  which 
is  found  among  the  northern  Indian  tribes.  The  limitations  upon  its  alien- 
ation to  an  Indian  from  another  pueblo,  or  to  a white  man,  not  to  lay  any 
stress  upon  the  absence  of  written  titles  or  conveyances  of  land  which  have 
been  made  possible  by  Spanish  and  American  intercourse,  show  very  plainly 
that  their  ideas  respecting  the  ownership  of  the  absolute  title  to  land,  with 
power  to  alienate  to  whomsoever  the  person  pleased,  were  entirely  above 
their  conception  of  property  and  its  uses  All  the  ends  of  individual  own- 
ership and  of  inheritance  were  obtained  through  a mere  right  of  possession, 
while  the  ultimate  title  remained  in  the  tribe.  According  to  the  statement 
of  Mr.  Miller,  if  the  father  dies,  his  land  is  divided  between  his  widow  and 
children,  and  if  a woman,  her  land  is  divided  equally  between  her  sons  and 
daughters.  This  is  an  important  statement,  because,  assuming  its  correct- 
ness, it  shows  inheritance  of  children  from  both  father  and  mother,  a total 
departure  from  the  principles  of  gentile  inheritance.  In  1878  I visited  the 
Taos  pueblo.  I could  not  find  among  them  the  gens  or  clan,1  and  from 
lack  of  time  did  not  inquire  into  their  property  regulations  or  rules  of  in- 
heritance. The  dozen  large  ovens  I saw  while  there  near  the  ends  or  in 
front  of  the  two  buildings,  each  of  which  was  equal  to  the  wants  of  more 
than  one  family,  were  adopted  from  the  Spanish.  They  not  unlikely  had 
some  connection  with  the  old  principle  of  communism. 


1 Mr.  Bandelier  has  since  ascertained  that  they  are  organized  in  gentes. 


150  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


It  will  prove  a very  difficult  undertaking  to  ascertain  the  old  mode  of 
life  three  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  in  New  Mexico,  Mexico,  and  Central 
America,  as  it  was  then  in  full  vitality,  a natural  outgrowth  of  Indian  insti- 
tutions. The  experiment  to  recover  this  lost  condition  of  Indian  society 
has  not  been  tried.  The  people  have  been  environed  with  civilization 
during  the  latter  portion  of  this  period,  and  have  been  more  or  less  affected 
by  it  from  the  beginning.  Their  further  growth  and  development  was 
arrested  by  the  advent  of  European  civilization,  which  blighted  their  more 
feeble  culture.  Since  their  discovery  they  have  steadily  declined  in  num- 
bers, and  they  show  no  signs  of  recovery  from  the  shock  produced  by  their 
subjugation.  Among  the  northern  tribes,  who  were  one  Ethnical  Period 
below  the  Pueblo  Indians,  their  social  organization  and  their  mode  of  life 
have  changed  materially  under  similar  influences  since  the  period  of  dis- 
covery. The  family  has  fallen  more  into  the  strictly  monogamian  form, 
each  occupying  a separate  house  ; communism  in  living  in  large  households 
has  disappeared ; the  organization  into  gentes  has  in  many  cases  fallen  out 
or  been  rudely  extinguished  by  external  influences ; and  their  religious 
usages  have  yielded.  We  must  expect  to  find  similar  and  even  greater 
changes  among  the  Village  Indians  of  New  Mexico  The  white  race  were 
upon  them  in  Mexico  and  New  Mexico  a hundred  years  earlier  than  upon 
the  Indian  tribes  of  the  United  States.  But,  as  if  to  stimulate  investigation 
into  their  ancient  mode  of  life,  some  of  these  tribes  have  continued  through 
all  these  years  to  live  in  the  same  identical  houses  occupied  by  their  fore- 
fathers in  1540  at  Acoma,  Jemez,  and  Taos.  These  pueblos  were  contempo- 
rary with  the  pueblo  of  Mexico  captured  by  Cortez  in  1520.  The  present 
inhabitants  are  likely  to  have  retained  some  part  of  the  old  plan  of  life, 
or  some  traditionary  knowledge  of  what  it  was.  They  must  retain  some 
of  the  usages  and  customs  with  respect  to  the  ownership  and  inheritance  of 
sections  of  these  houses,  and  of  the  limitations  upon  the  power  of  sale  that 
they  should  not  pass  out  of  the  kinship.  The  same  also  with  respect  to  sec- 
tions of  the  village  garden.  All  the  facts  with  respect  to  their  ancient  usages 
and  mode  of  life  should  be  ascertained,  so  far  as  it  is  now  possible  to  do  so 
from  the  present  inhabitants  of  these  pueblos.  The  information  thus  given 
will  serve  a useful  purpose  in  explaining  the  pueblos  in  ruins  in  Yucatan  and 
Central  America,  as  well  as  on  the  San  Juan,  the  Chaco,  and  the  Gila. 


MORGAN.] 


RELIGIOUS  RELIEFS. 


151 


At  the  time  of  their  discovery  the  Pueblo  Indians  of  New  Mexico 
generally  worshipped  the  sun  as  their  principal  divinity.  Although  under 
constraint  they  became  nominally  Roman  Catholic,  they  still  retain,  in  fact, 
their  old  religious  beliefs.  Mr.  Miller  has  sent  me  some  information  upon 
this  subject  concerning  the  pueblos  of  Taos,  Jemez,  and  Zia. 

“ Before  the  Spaniards  forced  their  religion  upon  the  people,  the  pueblo 
of  Taos  had  the  Sun  for  their  God,  and  worshipped  the  Sun  as  such  They 
had  periodical  assemblages  of  the  authorities  and  the  people  in  the  estufas 
for  offering  prayers  to  the  Sun,  to  supplicate  him  to  repeat  his  diurnal  visits, 
and  to  continue  to  make  the  maize,  beans,  and  squashes  grow  for  the  sus- 
tenance of  the  people.  ‘The  Sun  and  God,’  said  the  governor  (Mirabal)  to 
me,  ‘are  the  same.  We  believe  really  in  the  Sun  as  our  God,  but  we  pro- 
fess to  believe  in  the  God  and  Christ  of  the  Catholic  Church  and  of  the 
Bible.  When  we  die,  we  go  to  God  in  Heaven.  I do  not  know  whether 
Heaven  is  in  the  Sun,  or  the  Sun  is  Pleaven.  The  Spaniards  required  us  to 
believe  in  their  God,  and  we  were  compelled  to  adopt  their  God,  their 
church,  and  their  doctrines,  willing  or  unwilling.  We  do  not  know  that 
under  the  American  Government  we  may  exercise  any  religion  we  choose, 
and  that  the  National  Government  and  the  church  government  are  wholly 
disconnected.  We  have  very  great  respect  and  reverence  for  the  Sun.  We 
fear  that  the  Sun  will  punish  us  now,  or  at  some  future  time,  if  we  do  evil. 
The  modern  pueblos  have  the  Sun  religion  really,  but  they  profess  the 
Christian  religion,  of  which  they  know  nothing  but  what  the  Catholic  religion 
teaches.  They  always  believed  that  Montezuma  would  come  again  as  the 
messiali  of  the  pueblo.  The  Catholic  religion  has  been  so  long  outwardly 
practiced  by  the  people  that  it  could  not  now,  they  think,  be  easily  laid 
aside,  and  the  old  Sun  religion  be  established,  because  it  is  looked  upon  as 
established  by  the  law  of  the  land,  and  therefore  necessarily  practiced. 
Nevertheless,  the  Indians  will  always  follow  and  practice,  as  they  do,  both 
religions.  If,’  said  the  governor,  ‘one  Indian  here  at  this  pueblo  were  to 
declare  that  he  intended  to  renounce  and  abandon  the  religion  of  his  fathers 
(the  worship  of  the  Sun)  and  adopt  the  Christian  religion  as  his  onty  faith, 
and  another  Indian  were  to  declare  that  he  intended  to  repudiate  the 
Christian  religion  and  adopt  and  practice  only  the  Sun  religion,  the  former 


152  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 

would  be  expelled  the  pueblo,  and  his  property  would  be  confiscated,  but 
the  other  would  be  allowed  to  remain  with  all  his  rights  ’ 

“There  are  three  old  men  in  the  pueblo  whose  duty  it  is  to  impart  the 
traditions  of  the  people  to  the  rising  generation.  These  traditions  are  com- 
municated to  the  young  men  according  to  their  ages  and  capacities  to 
receive  and  appreciate  them.  The  Taos  Indians  have  a tradition  that  they 
came  from  the  north ; that  they  found  other  Indians  at  this  place  (Taos) 
living  also  in  a pueblo ; that  these  they  ejected  after  much  fighting,  and 
took  and  have  continued  to  occupy  their  place.  How  long  ago  this  was 
they  cannot  say,  but  it  must  have  been  a long  time  ago.  The  Indians 
driven  away  lived  here  in  a pueblo,  as  the  Taos  Indians  now  do.” 

Mr.  Miller  also  communicates  a conversation  had  with  Juan  Jos^,  a 
native  of  Zia,  and  Josfi  Miguel,  a native  of  Pecos,  but  then  (December, 
1877)  a resident  of  the  pueblo  of  Jemez,  which  he  wrote  down  at  the  time, 
as  follows:  “Before  the  Spaniards  came,  the  religion  of  Jemez,  Pecos  and 
Zia,  and  the  other  pueblos,  was  the  Montezuma  religion.  A principal 
feature  of  this  religion  was  the  celebration  of  Dances  at  the  pueblo.  In  it, 
God  was  the  sun.  Seli-un-yuh  was  the  land  the  Pueblo  Indians  came  from, 
and  to  it  they  went  when  dead.  This  country  ( Seh-un-yuh ) was  at  Great 
Salt  Lake.  They  cannot  say  whether  this  lake  was  the  place  where  the 
Mormons  now  live,  but  it  was  to  the  north.  Under  this  great  lake  there 
was  a big  Indian  Pueblo,  and  it  is  there  yet.1 *  The  Indian  dances  were 
had  only  when  prescribed  by  the  cacique.  The  Pueblo  Indians  now  have 
two  religions,  that  of  Montezuma,  and  the  Roman  Catholic.  The  Sun, 
Moon,  and  Stars  were  Gods,  of  which  the  greatest  and  most  potent  was 
the  Sun ; but  greater  than  he  was  Montezuma.  In  time  of  drought,  or 
actual  or  threatened  calamity,  the  Pueblo  Indians  prayed  to  Montezuma, 
and  also  to  the  Sun,  Moon,  and  Stars.  The  old  religion  (that  of  Montezu- 
ma) is  believed  in  all  the  New  Mexican  pueblos.  They  practice  the  Cath- 
olic religion  ostensibl}7 ; but  in  their  consciences  and  in  reality  the  old  reli- 
gion is  that  of  the  pueblos.  The  tenets  of  the  old  religion  are  preserved 
by  tradition,  which  the  old  men  communicate  to  the  young  in  the  estufas. 
At  church  worship  the  Pueblo  Indians  pray  to  God,  and  also  to  Montezuma 

1 The  Iroquois  have  a similar  tradition  of  the  ancient  existence  of  an  Indian  village  under  Otsego 

Lake  in  New  York. 


MORGAN.] 


153 


SELF-SECLUSION  FOR  RELIGIOUS  PURPOSES. 

and  the  Sun ; but  at  the  dances  they  pray  to  Montezuma  and  the  Sun  only. 
During  an  actual  or  threatened  calamity  the  dances  are  called  by  the  ca- 
cique. They  have  two  Gods  ; the  God  of  the  Pueblos,  and  the  God  of  the 
Christians.  Montezuma  is  the  God  of  the  Pueblo.” 

This  account  of  the  Sun  worship  of  the  Taos  Indians,  in  which  is 
intermingled  that  of  Montezuma,  and  the  further  account  of  the  worship  of 
Montezuma  at  the  pueblos  of  Zia  and  Jemez,  with  the  recognition  of  the 
worship  of  the  Sun,  Moon,  and  Stars,  are  both  interesting  and  suggestive. 
It  is  probable  that  Sun  worship  is  the  older  of  the  two,  while  that  of  Monte- 
zuma, as  a later  growth,  remained  concurrent  with  the  other  in  all  the  New 
Mexican  pueblos  without  superseding  it.  In  this  supernatural  person, 
known  to  them  as  Montezuma,  who  was  once  among  them  in  bodily  human 
form,  and  who  left  them  with  a promise  that  he  would  return  again  at  a 
future  day,  may  be  recognized  the  Hiawatha  of  Longfellow’s  poem,  the 
Ha-yo-went' -ha  of  the  Iroquois.  It  is  in  each  case  a ramification  of  a wide- 
spread legend  in  the  tribes  of  the  American  aborigines,  of  a personal  human 
being,  with  supernatural  powers,  an  instructor  of  the  arts  of  life  ; an  exam- 
ple of  the  highest  virtues,  beneficent,  wise,  and  immortal. 

“They  have,”  remarks  Mr.  Miller,  “one  curious  custom  which  has 
always  been  observed  in  the  pueblo.  It  is  for  some  one  (sometimes  several 
simultaneously)  to  seclude  themselves  entirely  from  the  outer  world, 
abstaining  absolutely  from  all  personal  communication  with  others,  and 
devoting  themselves  solely  to  prayer  for  the  pueblo  and  its  inhabitants. 
This  seclusion  lasts  eighteen  months,  during  which  they  are  furnished  daily, 
by  a confidential  messenger,  with  a little  food,  just  enough  to  preserve  life, 
and  during  which  time  they  may  not  even  inquire  about  their  wives  or 
children  or  be  told  anything  of  them  though  the  messenger  may  know  that 
some  of  them  are  sick  or  have  died  The  food  the  recluse  is  permitted  to  use 
is  corn,  beans,  squashes,  and  buffalo  and  deer  meat;  that  is,  such  food  as  was 
used  before  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards.  This  religious  seclusion  is  in  honor 
of  the  Sun.  It  is  one  of  the  rites  of  the  ancient  religion  of  the  Pueblo,  pre- 
served and  practiced  now.  One  of  the  old  men  I talked  with  said  that  he  had 
lnmself  the  previous  year  emerged  from  this  hermitage;  three  others  were 
now  in,  they  having  retired  to  exile  in  February,  1877,  and  will  emerge  in 
August,  1878,  then  to  learn  the  news  of  the  previous  year  and  a half.” 


CHAPTER  VII. 

RUINS  OF  HOUSES  OF  THE  SEDENTARY  INDIANS  OF  THE  SAN  JUAN 

RIVER  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES. 

The  finest  structures  of  the  Village  Indians  in  New  Mexico,  and  northward 
of  its  present  boundary  line,  are  found  on  the  San  Juan  and  its  tributaries, 
unoccupied  and  in  ruins.  Even  the  regions  in  which  they  are  principally 
situated  are  not  now  occupied  by  this  class  of  Indians,  but  are  roamed  over 
by  wild  tribes  of  the  Apaches  and  the  Utes.  The  most  conspicuous  cluster 
of  these  ruined  and  deserted  pueblos  are  in  the  canon  or  valley  of  the  Rio 
Chaco,  which  stream  is  an  affluent  of  the  San  Juan,  a tributary  of  the  Colo- 
rado. Similar  ruins  of  stone  pueblos  are  also  found  in  the  valley  of  the 
Animas  River,  and  also  in  the  region  of  the  Ute  Mountain  in  Southwestern 
Colorado.  Ruins  of  clusters  of  small  single  houses  built  of  cobble-stone 
and  adobe  mortar,  and  of  large  pueblos  of  the  same  material,  are  to  be 
seen  in  the  La  Plata  Valley,  and  in  the  Montezuma  Valley,  west  of  the 
Mancos  River.  On  the  Mancos  River  are  a large  number  of  cliff  houses  of 
stone,  and  also  round  towers  of  stone,  ot  which  the  uses  are  not  at  present 
known.  Cliff  houses  are  also  found  on  the  Dolores  River.  Other  ruins  are 
found  in  the  canon  of  the  Rio  de  Clielly. 

The  supposition  is  reasonable  that  the  Village  Indians  north  of  Mexico 
had  attained  their  highest  culture  and  development  where  these  stone  struc- 
tures are  found.  They  are  similar  in  style  and  plan  to  the  present  occu- 
pied pueblos  in  New  Mexico,  but  superior  in  construction,  as  stone  is  supe- 
rior to  adobe  or  to  cobble-stone  and  adobe  mortar.  They  are  also  equal,  if 
not  superior,  in  size  and  in  the  extent  of  their  accommodations,  to  any  Indian 
pueblos  ever  constructed  in  North  America.  This  fact  gives  additional 
interest  to  these  ruins,  which  are  here  to  be  considered. 

154 


MORGAN.] 


RUINS  IN  THE  CANON  OF  THE  RIO  CHACO. 


155 


Two  separate  explorations  and  reports  upon  the  Chaco  ruins  have  been 
made.  The  first  was  by  Lieut.  J.  H.  Simpson,  who  examined  them  in  1849 
and  first  brought  them  to  notice,  and  the  second  was  a re-examination  bv 
William  II.  Jackson  in  1877.  He  was  connected  with  Prof.  F.  V.  Hayden’s 
Geological  and  Geographical  Survey  of  the  Territories,  and  his  report  is  in 
that  of  Professor  Hayden,  published  in  1878,  p.  411. 

The  canon  of  the  Chaco,  which  commences  about  one  hundred  and  ten 
miles  northwest  from  Santo  Domingo,  on  the  Rio  Grande,  is  quite  remark- 
able. It  has  enough  of  the  characteristics  of  the  canon  to  justify  the  appli- 
cation of  this  peculiar  term  But  it  differs  from  the  great  canons  in  the 
lowness  of  the  bordering  walls  and  in  the  great  breadth  of  the  space  between. 
Neither  Simpson  nor  Jackson  describe  the  cation  or  valley  with  as  much 
particularity  as  could  be  desired,  but  Mr.  Jackson  has  furnished  a map, 
Fig.  29,  showing  the  course  of  the  stream  with  the  walls  of  the  canon 
shaded  in,  and  with  the  breaks  or  gullies  through  these  walls  reduced  to  a 
scale.  This  shows  that  the  level  plain  between  the  encompassing  walls 
ranges  from  half  a mile  to  a mile  in  places.  The  walls  of  the  canon  are 
composed  of  friable  sandstone,  and  are  usually  vertical.  Their  height  is 
not  given  with  precision.  The  engraving  also  shows  the  outline  forms  and 
comparative  size  of  the  several  structures,  with  specimens  of  three  varieties 
of  masonry  used  in  the  walls.  No.  2 shows  an  alternation  of  courses  of 
stone  from  four  to  six  inches  thick  and  from  eight  to  twelve  inches  long,  with 
intervening  courses  of  several  thin  stones.  The  same  alternation  of  courses 
reappears  in  the  pueblos  in  ruins  on  the  Animas  River,  about  sixty  miles 
north.  The  canon  commences  very  much  like  the  McElmo  Canon  in  South- 
western Colorado,  whose  vertical  walls  are  at  first  about  three  feet  high, 
with  a level  space  between  from  three  hundred  to  five  hundred  feet  in 
width ; its  walls  rising  slowly  as  you  descend.  Without  a present  running 
stream,  and  bordered  with  open  prairie  land,  it  makes  a novel  appearance 
to  the  eye.  Lieutenant  Simpson  remarks  that  after  leaving  the  pueblo 
Pintado,  which  is  above  the  commencement  of  the  canon,  “two  miles  over 
a slightly  rolling  country,  our  general  course  still  being  to  the  northwest, 
brought  us  to  the  commencement  of  the  Canon  de  Chaco,  its  width  here 
being  about  two  hundred  yards.  Friable  sandstone  rocks,  massive  above, 


156  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


stratified  below,  constitute  its  enclosing  walls.”1  And  Mr.  Jackson,  who 
entered  it  from  the  same  point,  remarks  that  “two  miles  from  the  river 
we  descended  into  the  canon  of  the  Chaco.  It  is  here  only  about  fifty 
feet  in  depth,  with  vertical  walls  of  yellowish  gray  sandstone.”2  At  a 
point  twelve  miles  down,  at  the  Pueblo  Una  Vida,  he  remarks  that  “the 
canon  is  here  about  five  hundred  yards  wide,  and  is  perfectly  level  from 
one  side  to  the  other.”3  Farther  down  the  walls  of  the  canon  rise  about  a 
hundred  feet,  as  appears  in  the  restorations  of  the  Pueblo  Bonito  and  of  the 
Pueblo  of  Hungo  Pavie.  Whether  the  canon  is  accessible  or  not  from  the 
table-land  above  over  against  the  several  pueblos,  by  means  of  the  arroyos 
which  break  through  the  walls  and  enter  the  canon,  does  not  appear  from 
these  reports;  but  it  seems  probable,  Mr.  Jackson  says,  that  near  the  Pueblo 
Bonito  he  ascended  to  the  top  of  the  bluff  by  means  of  a stairway  parti)7 
cut  in  the  face  of  the  rock.4 

Lieutenant  Simpson,  in  his  report,  has  furnished  ground  plans  of  five 
of  these  structures  with  measurements.  Mr.  Jackson  has  furnished  eleven 
ground  plans  with  measurements,  two  of  which  are  without  the  canon. 
They  agree  substantially,  but  we  shall  follow  Mr.  Jackson,  as  his  are  the 
most  complete.  The  following  engravings,  with  two  or  three  exceptions, 
are  taken  from  his  report.  The  remainder  are  from  Lieutenant  Simpson’s 
report. 

The  great  edifices  on  the  Chaco  are  all  constructed  of  the  same  mate- 
rials, and  upon  the  same  general  plan,  but  they  differ  in  ground  dimensions, 
in  the  number  of  rows  of  apartments,  and,  consequently,  in  the  number  of 
stories.  They  contained  from  one  hundred  to  six  hundred  apartments  each, 
and  would  severally  accommodate  from  five  hundred  to  four  thousand  per- 
sons, living  in  the  fashion  of  Indians.  Speaking  of  the  Pueblo  of  Pintado, 
Lieutenant  Simpson  remarks  as  follows  : “Forming  one  structure,  and  built 
of  tabular  pieces  of  hard,  fine-grained,  compact,  gray  sandstone  (a  material 
entirely  unknown  in  the  present  architecture  of  New  Mexico),  to  which  the 
atmosphere  has  imparted  a reddish  tinge,  the  layers  or  beds  being  not 
thicker  than  three  inches,  and  sometimes  as  thin  as  one-fourth  of  an  inch, 
it.  discovers  in  the  masonry  a combination  of  science  and  art  which  can  only 


Lieutenant  Simpson’s  Eeport,  p.  77. 


2 Hayden’s  Report,  p.  436.  3Ib.,  p.  437.  •'Ib.,  p.  448. 


Fig.  29. — Chaco  Canon. 


MORGAN.! 


DESCRIPTION  OF  MASONRY. 


157 


be  referred  to  a higher  stage  of  civilization  and  refinement  than  is  discover- 
able  in  the  works  of  Mexicans  or  Pueblos  of  the  present  day.  Indeed,  so 
beautifully  diminutive  and  true  are  the  details  of  the  structure  as  to  cause 
it  at  a little  distance  to  have  all  the  appearance  of  a magnificent  piece  of 
mosaic  work. 

“In  the  outer  face  of  the  buildings  there  are  no  signs  of  mortar,  the 
intervals  between  the  beds  being  chinked  with  stones  of  the  minutest  thin- 
ness. The  filling  and  backing  are  done  in  rubble  masonry,  the  mortar 
presenting  no  indications  of  the  presence  of  lime.  The  thickness  of  the 
main  wall  at  base  is  within  an  inch  or  two  of  three  feet;  higher  up,  it  is  less, 
diminishing  every  story  by  retreating  jogs  on  the  inside,  from  bottom  to  top. 
Its  elevation  at  its  present  highest  point  is  between  twenty-five  and  thirty 
feet,  the  series  of  floor  beams  indicating  that  there  must  have  been  originally 
three  stories.  The  ground  plan,  including  the  court,  in  exterior  develop- 
ment is  about  403  feet.  On  the  ground-floor,  exclusive  of  the  out-buildings, 
are  fifty-four  apartments,  some  of  them  as  small  as  five  feet  square,  and  the 
largest  about  twelve  by  six  feet.  These  rooms  communicate  with  each 
other  by  very  small  doors,  some  of  them  as  contracted  as  two  and  a half  by 
two  and  a half  feet;  and  in  the  case  of  the  inner  suite,  the  doors  communi- 
cating with  the  interior  court  are  as  small  as  three  and  a half  by  two  feet. 
The  principal  rooms,  or  those  most  in  use,  were,  on  account  of  their  having 
large  doors  and  windows,  most  probably  those  of  the  second  story.  1 The 
system  of  flooring  seems  to  have  been  large  transverse  unhewn  beams,  six 
inches  in  diameter,  laid  transversely  from  wall  to  wall,  and  then  a number 
of  smaller  ones,  about  three  inches  in  diameter,  laid  longitudinally  upon 
them.  What  was  placed  upon  these  does  not  appeal-,  but  most  probably  it 
was  brush,  bark,  or  slabs,  covered  with  a layer  of  mud-mortar.  The  beams 
show  no  signs  of  the  saw  or  axe  ; on  the  contrary,  they  appear  to  have  been 
hacked  off  by  means  of  some  very  imperfect  instrument.  On  the  west  face 
of  the  structure,  the  windows,  Avhicli  are  only  in  the  second  story,  are  three 
feet  two  inches  by  two  feet  two  inches.  On  the  north  side  they  are  only 
in  the  second  and  third  stories,  and  are  as  small  as  fourteen  by  fourteen 
inches.  At  different  points  about  the  premises  were  three  circular  apart- 
ments sunk  in  the  ground,  the  walls  being  of  masonry.  These  apartments 


158  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE  LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 

the  Pueblo  Indians  called  estufas,  or  places  where  the  people  held  their 
political  and  religious  meetings.”1 

The  main  building,  Fig.  30,  is  two  hundred  and  thirty-eight  feet  long, 
and  the  wing  one  hundred  and  seventy-four  feet.  It  seems  probable,  from  the 
symmetrical  character  of  most  of  these  structures,  that  the  original  plan  con- 
templated an  extension  of  the  main  building,  the  addition  of  another  wing,  to 
be  followed  by  the  connection  of  the  wings  with  a wall,  thus  closing  the  court. 
These  buildings  were  not  all  completed  at  once,  but  were  extended  and 
increased  in  the  number  of  stories  from  generation  to  generation,  as  the 
people  increased  in  numbers  and  prosperity.  The  plan  upon  which  these 
houses  were  erected  favored  such  extension.  The  great  size  of  some  of 
these  structures  can  only  be  explained  by  the  hypothesis  of  growth  through 
long  periods  of  time.  The  stone  for  building  this  pueblo  was  found  quite 
near.  Mr.  Jackson  remarks  that  “ on  the  side  of  the  bluff  facing  the  valley 
is  an  outcrop  of  a yellowish-gray  sandstone,  showing  in  some  places  a seam 
of  from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  in  thickness,  where  the  rock  breaks  into 
thin  slate-like  layers.  It  was  from  this  stratum  that  most  of  the  material  in 
the  walls  was  obtained.”2  He  further  remarks  concerning  the  estufas: 
“ In  the  northwest  angle  of  the  court  are  two  circular  rooms,  or  estufas , the 
best  preserved  one  of  which  is  built  into  the  main  building  and  forms  a 
portion  of  it,  while  the  other  stands  outside,  but  in  juxtaposition,  and  is 
evidently  a later  and  less  perfect  addition.  They  are  each  twenty-five  feet 
in  diameter.  The  inside  walls  are  perfectly  cylindrical,  and  in  the  case  of 
the  inner  one  are  in  good  preservation  for  a height  of  about  five  feet. 
* * * There  are  no  side  apertures,  so  that  light  and  access  was  proba- 

bly obtained  through  the  roof.  These  estufas , which  figure  so  prominently 
in  these  ruins  and  in  fact  in  all  the  ancient  ruins  extending  southward  from 
the  basin  of  the  Rio  San  Juan,  are  so  identical  in  their  structure,  position, 
and  evident  uses  with  the  similar  ones  in  the  pueblos  now  inhabited,  that 
they  indisputably  connect  one  with  the  other,  and  show  this  region  to  have 
been  covered  at  one  time  with  a numerous  population,  of  which  the  present 
inhabitants  of  the  pueblos  of  Moki  and  of  New  Mexico  are  either  the 
remnants  or  the  descendants.  * * * Beneath  the  ground  plan  [in  Fig. 


Simpson’s  Report,  p.  76. 


3 Jackson’s  Report,  p.  433. 


238  FEET 


Process . 


MORGAN.] 


RUINS  OF  PUEBLO  WEGF-GL 


159 


30]  is  a section  through  a restoration  of  the  pueblo  from  north  to  south, 
showing  the  manner  in  which  the  stories  were  probably  terraced  from  the 
interior  of  the  court  outward.  There  is  no  positive  evidence  in  any  of  these 
ruins  that  they  were  thus  built,  but  this  arrangement  naturally  suggests  itself 
as  being  the  only  way  in  which  light  and  ease  of  access  to  the  inner  rooms 
could  be  readily  obtained.  It  is  also  quite  certain  from  the  character  of 
the  standing  walls  that  they  were  not  terraced  symmetrically  but  irregularly, 
after  the  manner  of  the  present  pueblos.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  the  first  story  was,  in  every  case,  reached  from  the  outside  by  ladders, 
the  succeeding  stories  being  also  approached  from  the  outside,  either  by 
ladders  or  by  stone  stairways,  after  the  manner  of  the  Moqui  pueblos. 
There  is  no  positive  evidence  to  sustain  any  conjecture  upon  this  point,  as 
in  every  ruin  the  upper  stories  are  so  entirely  dismantled  that  no  indications 
of  any  sort  of  stairway  have  ever  been  found.  The  ground-floor  was  divided 
into  smaller  apartments  than  the  second  floor,  many  of  the  rooms,  as  shown 
in  the  plan,  being  in  the  lower  story  divided  into  two  or  three.  It  would 
be  impossible  to  say  how  high  this  story  had  been,  as  the  floor  is  covered 
to  a considerable  extent  with  stones  from  the  fallen  walls.  The  second  floor 
was  ten  feet  between  joists,  and  the  third  somewhat  less,  about  seven  feet, 
as  near  as  we  could  judge  from  below.  It  is  probable  that  there  was  a fourth 
story,  but  there  is  now  very  little  evidence  of  it.  Not  a vestige  of  the 
vigas  or  other  floor-timbers  now  remain.  Some  of  the  lintels  over  the  doors 
or  windows,  composed  of  sticks  of  wood  from  one  to  two  inches  in  thick- 
ness, laid  close  together,  are  now  in  fair  preservation.”1 

Twelve  miles  down  the  canon  from  the  Pueblo  Pintado,  are  the  ruins 
of  the  Pueblo  Wege-gi,  Fig1.  30.  The  main  building  is  two  hundred  and 

©O’  O o 

twenty-four  feet,  and  the  length  of  each  wing  is  one  hundred  and  twenty 
feet,  measured  on  the  outside,  but  which  would  include  the  depth  of  the 
main  building.  It  is  remarkably  symmetrical.  The  rooms,  Mr.  Jackson 
says,  are  small,  the  largest  being  eight  by  fourteen  feet,  and  the  smallest 
eight  feet  square,  and  the  estufas  are  each  thirty  feet  in  diameter.  It  is  built 
like  the  last  pueblo  “of  small  tabular  pieces  of  sandstone,  arranged  with 
beautiful  effect  of  regularity  and  finish.” 


‘Jackson’s  Eeport,  p.  434. 


160  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


The  Pueblo  of  Una  Yicla,  Fig.  31,  seems  to  have  been  in  process  of  con- 
struction, and  designed,  when  completed,  to  have  been  one  of  the  largest  in 
the  valley.  The  main  building  is  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length,  and 
the  wing  two  hundred  feet.  It  requires  for  its  completion  a considerable 
extension  of  the  main  building,  and  the  addition  of  another  wing.  If  this 
supposition  is  tenable,  it  serves  to  show  that  these  great  houses  were  of 
slow  construction,  by  the  process  of  addition  and  extension  from  time  to 
time,  with  the  increase  of  the  people  in  numbers.  Upon  this  theory  of 
construction,  the  first  row  of  the  main  building  on  the  court  side  would 
first  be  completed  one  story  high,  and  covered  with  a flat  roof;  after  which, 
by  adding  one  parallel  wall  with  partition  walls  at  intervals,  as  many  more 
apartments  would  be  obtained ; and  by  a third  and  fourth  parallel  wall, 
with  partitions,  twice  as  many  more.  The  second  row  was  carried  up  two 
stories,  the  third  three,  and  the  fourth  four ; the  successive  stories  reced- 
ing from  the  court  side  in  the  form  of  great  steps  or  terraces,  one  above 
the  other.  The  wings  would  be  commenced  and  completed  in  the  same 
manner.  Further  than  this,  it  seems  evident,  from  the  present  condition  of 
the  structure,  that  the  main  building  was  to  be  considerably  extended,  with 
a second  wing  like  the  first  to  fill  out  the  original  design  and  produce  a 
symmetrical  edifice.  If  these  inferences  are  warranted,  the  interesting 
conclusion  is  reached  that  these  Indian  architects  commenced  their  great 
houses  upon  a definite  plan,  which  was  to  be  realized  in  its  completeness 
after  years  and  perhaps  generations  had  passed  away.  Like  the  pueblo 
last  named,  it  is  built  of  tabular  pieces  of  sandstone,  and  is  two  miles  and 
a half  lower  down  in  the  canon. 

The  highest  portions  of  the  wall  still  standing  in  this  pueblo  are  fifteen 
feet  in  height,  twenty-five  feet  in  Wege-gi,  and  thirty  feet  in  Hungo  Pavie. 

The  Pueblo  of  Ilungo  Pavie  or  Crooked  Nose,  Fig.  31,  is  situated  one 
mile  further  down  in  the  canon,  upon  the  north  side,  and  quite  near  the  bor- 
dering walls.  In  exterior  development,  including  the  court,  it  is  eight  hun- 
dred and  seventy-two  feet,  of  which  the  back  wall  measures  three  hundred, 
and  the  side  walls  or  wings  one  hundred  and  forty-four  feet  each.  It  is  of 
medium  size,  but  symmetrical,  and  larger  than  any  single  aboriginal  struct- 
ure in  Central  America  in  ground  dimensions.  There  are  seventy-three 


PUEBLO  UNA  VIDA, 
Chaco  Canon, 

N.  M. 

SO  60  70  eo  90  100 

SCALE.  IOO  reET 


□□01 

□□□□0 

□□□□a 

lor  u 


ni  ii  i!  ir  n in  n u m n u ii  i 

I II 

i i 

II  II  II  I/0- "SI II II Ji  Jl 

UU 

j 

uu 

i rr~inr 

nn 

n 

□□ 

□ 

□□ 

□ 

□□ 

□□ 

□ 

LI 

0 

□□ 

□□ 

1 

on 

□ 

PUEBLO  HUNGO  PAVIE 

□n 

□□ 

□ 

Chaco  Canon, 

N.  M. 

10  20  30  40  50  60  70  80  90  IOO 

□□ 

, _ _ SCALE  IGu  FEET 


JO  VC  ES  PR0CETS9 


Fig.  31, — Ground  plans  of  Pueldos  Una  Vida  and  Hungo  Pavie. 


Fig.  3?. — Restoration  of  Pueblo  Hungo  Pavie. 


MORGAN.] 


RUINS  OF  PUEBLO  CHETTRO  KETTLE. 


161 


apartments  in  the  first  story,  some  of  which  are  unusually  large,  being 
about  thirteen  by  eighteen  feet,  and  with  fifty -three  rooms  in  the  second 
story,  and  twenty-nine  in  the  third,  contain  an  aggregate  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty-five  rooms.  It  would  accommodate  from  eight  hundred  to  one 
thousand  Indians. 

To  complete  the  representation  of  the  architectural  design  of  these 
“great  housesof  stone,”the  annexed  elevation  is  given,  Fig.  32.  It  is  arestora- 
tion  of  the  Pueblo  of  Hungo  Pavie,  made  by  Mr.  Kern,  who  accompanied 
General  Simpson  as  draughtsman,  and  copied  from  his  engraving.  The 
walls  of  the  canon  are  seen  in  the  background  of  engraving.  We  may 
recognize  in  this  edifice,  as  it  seems  to  the  author,  a very  satisfactory 
reproduction  of  the  so-called  palaces  of  Montezuma,  which,  like  this,  were 
constructed  on  three  sides  of  a court  which  opened  on  a street  or  causeway, 
and  in  the  terraced  form.  From  the  light  which  this  architecture  throws 
upon  that  of  the  Aztecs,  which  was  cotemporary,  it  appears  extremely 
probable  that  these  famous  palaces,  considered  as  exclusive  residences  of 
an  Indian  potentate,  are  purely  fictitious ; and  that,  on  the  contrary,  they 
were  neither  more  nor  less  than  great  communal  or  joint-tenement  houses 
of  the  aboriginal  American  model,  and  with  common  Indians  crowding  all 

O’  o 

their  apartments.  From  what  is  now  known  of  the  necessary  constitution 
of  society  among  the  Ahllage  Indians,  it  scarcely  admits  of  a doubt  that 
the  great  house  in  which  he  lived  was  occupied  on  equal  terms  by  many 
other  families  in  common  with  his  own,  all  the  individuals  of  which  were 
joint  proprietors  of  the  establishment  which  their  own  hands  had  constructed. 

Two  miles  further  down,  and  upon  the  north  side  of  the  canon,  near  the 
bluff,  are  the  ruins  of  the  Pueblo  of  Chettro  Kettle,  or  the  Rain  Pueblo, 
Fig.  33.  The  main  building  and  the  wings  face  the  court,  from  which  alone 
they  are  entered,  and  from  which  the  several  stories  recede  outward.  In- 
cluding the  court,  this  great  edifice  has  an  exterior  development  of  one 
thousand  three  hundred  feet.  The  exterior  wall  of  the  main  building 
measures  four  hundred  and  fifty-two  feet  in  length,  and  the  longest  of  the 
wings  two  hundred  and  twenty  feet.  These  measurements  are  according 
to  General  Simpson. 

From  these  measurements  some  impression  may  be  formed  of  the 

11 


162  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


extent  of  the  accommodations  such  an  edifice  would  afford,  especially  in 
Indian  life,  where  a married  pair  and  their  children  are  found  in  a smaller 
space  than  one  of  these  apartments  supplied.  The  plan  shows  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  apartments  in  the  ground  story ; one  hundred  and 
thirty-four  in  the  second  ; one  hundred  and  thirteen  in  the  third ; sixty  in 
the  fourth,  and  twenty-four  in  the  fifth — making  an  aggregate  of  five  hun- 
dred and  six  apartments.  It  is  not  probable  that  the  several  stories  were 
carried  up  symmetrically,  which  would  involve  a diminution  of  some  of 
the  rooms  in  the  upper  stories.  This  pueblo  is  constructed  of  the  same 
materials  as  those  before  named.  “The  circular  estufas”  Lieutenant  Simp- 
son remarks,  “of  which  there  are  six  in  number,  have  a greater  depth  than 
any  we  have  seen,  and  differ  from  them  also  in  exhibiting  more  stories,  one 
of  them  certainly  showing  two,  and  possibly  three,  the  lowest  one  appear- 
ing to  be  almost  covered  up  with  debris .” 

This  room,  Fig\  34,  is  described  by  Lieutenant  Simpson,  but  at  the  time 
of  Mr.  Jackson’s  visit  he  was  unable  to  find  it,  “In  the  northwest  corner  of 
the  ruins,”  Lieutenant  Simpson  remarks,  “we  found  a room  in  an  almost  per- 
fect state  of  preservation.  * * * This  room  is  fourteen  by  seven  and  a 

half  feet  in  plan,  and  ten  feet  in  elevation.  It  has  an  outside  doorway,  three 
and  a half  feet  high  by  two  and  a quarter  wide,  and  one  at  its  west  end, 
leading  into  the  adjoining  room,  two  feet  wide,  and  at  present,  on  account 
of  rubbish,  only  two  and  a half  feet  high.  The  stone  walls  still  have  their 
plaster  upon  them  in  a tolerable  state  of  preservation.  In  the  south  wall 
is  a recess  or  niche,  three  feet  two  inches  high  by  four  feet  five  inches  wide 
by  four  deep.  Its  position  and  size  naturally  suggested  the  idea  that  it 
might  have  been  a fire-place,  but  if  so,  the  smoke  must  have  returned  to 
the  room,  as  there  was  no  chimney  outlet  for  it.  In  addition  to  this  large 
recess,  there  were  three  smaller  ones  in  the  same  wall.  The  ceiling  showed 
two  main  beams,  laid  transversely ; on  these,  longitudinally,  were  a num- 
ber of  smaller  ones  in  juxtaposition,  the  ends  being  tied  together  by  a 
species  of  wooden  fibre,  and  the  interstices  chinked  in  with  small  stones;  on 
these,  again,  transversely,  in  clo.  e contact,  was  a kind  of  lathing  of  the 
odor  and  appearance  of  cedar,  all  in  a good  state  of  preservation.”1  When 


1 Lieutenant  Simpson’s  Report,  p.  63. 


PUEBLO  CHETTRO-KETTLE, 

Chaco  Canon, 

N.  M. 

10  20  30  ’40  60  60  70  80  90  100 

I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 . -I-  - 1^  i 

SCALE,  100  FEET. 


600  YDS. TO  PUEBLO  BONITO. 


# 


^ > 
- ' U) 

I 


% 


JOYCE'S  PROCESS, 


Fig.  33.  — Ground  plau  of  Cliettro  Kettle, 


Room  in  Pueb’o  Chettro  Kettle. 


✓ 


/ 


WALLS  OBSCURE 


< 


□□□□□□□ 


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ESTUFA 

ESTUFA 

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I 

I IL: 

(/)  rr 
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I 17 


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70  eo  so  too 


SCALE,  100  FEET. 


Fig.  35. — Ground  plan  of  Pueblo  Bonito. 


Joyce's  process 


MORGAN.] 


RUINS  OF  PUEBLO  BONITO. 


163 


in  its  original  condition,  this  line  pueblo  must  have  made  a very  striking 
appearance. 

Immediately  under  the  walls  of  the  canon,  and  about  a quarter  of  a 
mile  below  the  last  pueblo,  are  the  ruins  of  the  still  greater  Pueblo  Bonito, 
Fig.  35.  This  edifice  is,  in  some  respects,  the  most  interesting  of  the  series 
as  well  as  the  best  preserved  in  certain  portions  Its  exterior  development, 
including  the  court,  is  one  thousand  three  hundred  feet.  Its  corners  are 
rounded,  and  the  east  wing,  now  the  most  ruinous  part  of  the  structure,  appears 
to  have  had  row  upon  row  of  apartments  added,  until  nearly  one-third  of  the 
area  of  the  court  was  covered  “Its  present  elevation,”  General  Simpson 
observes,  “ shows  that  it  had  at  least  four  stories  of  apartments.  The  num- 
ber of  rooms  on  the  ground  floor  is  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine.  In  this 
enumeration,  however,  are  not  included  the  apartments  which  are  not  dis- 
tinguishable in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  pueblo,  and  which  would  swell 
the  number  to  about  two  hundred.  There,  then,  having  been  at  least  four 
stories  of  rooms  * * * there  must  be  a reduction  * * * of  one 
range  of  rooms  for  every  story  after  the  first,  which  would  increase  the 
number  to  six  hundred  and  forty-one.”1  No  single  edifice  of  equal  accom- 
modations, it  may  be  here  repeated,  has  ever  been  found  in  any  part  of 
North  America.  It  would  accommodate  three  thousand  Indians 

One  of  the  best  of  its  rooms  is  shown  in  the  engraving,  Fig.  36.  It 
will  compare,  not  unfavorably,  with  any  of  equal  size  to  be  found  at  Palenque 
or  Uxmal,  although,  from  the  want  of  a vaulted  ceiling,  not  equal  in  artistic 
design.  The  nice  mechanical  adjustment  of  the  masonry  and  the  finish  of 
the  ceiling  are  highly  creditable  to  the  taste  and  skill  of  the  builders.  “ It 
is  walled  up,”  says  Simpson,  “with  alternate  beds  of  large  and  small  stones, 
the  regularity  of  the  combination  producing  a very  pleasant  effect.  The 
ceiling  of  this  room  is  also  more  tasteful  than  any  we  have  seen,  the  trans- 
verse beams  being  smaller  and  more  numerous,  and  the  longitudinal  pieces, 
which  rest  upon  them,  only  about  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  beautifully  reg- 
ular. These  latter  have  somewhat  the  appearance  of  barked  willow.  The 
room  has  a doorway  at  each  end,  and  one  at  the  side,  each  of  them  leading 


Simpson’s  Report,  p.  81 


164  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


into  adjacent  apartments.  The  light  is  let  in  by  a window  two  feet  by  eight 
inches  on  the  north  side.”1 

Mr.  Jackson’s  study  of  the  ruins  enabled  him  to  produce  a restoration, 
which  is  given  in  his  report,  and  of  whose  plate  Fig.  37  is  a copy.  It  is 
an  interesting  work,  considered  as  a restoration,  which  can  only  claim  to 
be  an  approximation.  It  will  be  noticed  that  three  passage-ways  were  left 
open  into  the  court,  although  the  ground  plan  shows  but  one.  In  the 
Yucatan  edifices,  as  the  House  of  the  Nuns  at  Uxmal,  there  is  usually  an 
arched  gateway  through  the  center  of  the  building  facing  the  court.  The 
court  was  also  open  at  each  of  the  four  angles,  which,  however,  might  have 
been  protected  b}7  palisades  in  time  of  danger.  The  walls  of  the  canon  are 
seen  in  the  background  of  the  engraving. 

Of  this  pueblo,  Mr.  Jackson  remarks  that  “three  hundred  yards  below 
are  the  ruins  of  the  Pueblo  del  Arroyo,  Fig.  38,  so  named  probably  because 
it  is  on  the  verge  of  the  deep  arroyo  which  traverses  the  middle  of  the  canon.” 
This  was  given  only  a passing  glance  by  Simpson,  but  it  well  repays  more 
careful  inspection.  It  is  of  the  rectangular  form,  but  with  the  open  space  or 
court  facing  a few  degrees  north  of  east.  The  west  wall  is  two  hundred 
and  sixty-eight  feet  long,  and  the  two  wings  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
and  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  feet,  respectively;  their  ends  connected  by 
a narrow  and  low  semi-circular  wall.  The  wings  are  the  most  massive- 
ly-built and  best-preserved  portion  of  the  whole  building,  that  portion 
which  lies  between  them  and  back  of  the  court  being  much  more  ruinous 
and  dissimilar  in  many  respects.  The  walls  of  the  south  wing,  which  are 
in  the  first  story,  very  heavy  and  massive,  are  still  standing  to  the  height 
of  the  third  story.  Many  of  the  vigas  are  still  in  place,  and  are  large  and 
perfectly  smooth  and  straight  undressed  logs  of  pine,  averaging  ten  inches 
in  thickness;  none  of  the  smaller  beams  or  other  wood-work  now  remains. 
There  is  one  esttifa  thirty-seven  feet  in  diameter  in  this  wing.  In  the  north 
wing  the  walls  are  standing  somewhat  higher,  but  do  not  indicate  more 
than  three  stories,  though  there  was  probably  another.  The  vigas  of  the 
second  floor  project  through  the  wall  for  a distance  of  about  five  feet  along 
its  whole  northern  face,  the  same  as  in  the  Pueblo  Ilungo  Pavie.  There  are 


Simpson’s  Report,  p.  81. 


Fig  36. — Room  in  Pueblo  Bonito. 


Fig.  37.— Restoration  of  Pueblo  Bonito. 


WALLS  STANDING  THREE  STORIES-  HIGH. 


1 II  1 

II 

nr  11 

1 II  1 

IL_ 

jUL 

1 II  1 

II  II  ll 

1 II  1 

ESTUFA 

v y 

1 

(estufa) 

□□□ 

□□□ 

□□□ 

□□□ 


PUEBLO  DEL  ARROYO, 

Chaco  Canon, 

N.  M. 

10  20  30  40  50  t.0  "O  60  90  10  0 

-I  I l l I 1-1-1  -I 1 

• 'SCALE,  100  FEET.. 


Ml  II  1 

II  1 

nnn 

nn 

% ' 
& ' 


O 

? : 
// 


0^0° 
3>° 


□ □□□□□□□□□a 

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wnna 


Ho 


□ □ 
□ □ 


□□□□□□  □□□□□□ 

PUEBLO  N o.  8 , jo:  m 30:  .40  s?  zo  70  m so  100 

Chaco  Canon,  * 1 ^ 1 1 1 * 1 * I ■ - - 1 - 

jyj  |y|  ‘SCALE,  100  FEET. 


□ □□1: 

□□nr 


PUEBLO  No.  9, 
Chaco  Canon, 
N.  M. 


SCALE  50  FEET. 


Fig.  38. — Ground  plan  of  Pueblo  Del  Arroyo 


MORGAN.] 


RUINS  OF  PENASCA  BLANCA. 


165 


two  estufas;  one  near  the  east  end  of  the  wing,  which  is  twenty-seven  feet 
in  diameter,  was  three  stories  in  height.  The  floor-beams  are  removed,  but 
the  remains  show  this  plainly.  The  interior  is  nearly  filled  up,  but  it  was 
originally  over  twenty -five  feet  in  depth.  The  ruins  of  the  other  estufa  are 
insignificant  compared  with  this,  and  it  probably  consisted  of  but  one  low 
room.  Facing  the  center  of  the  court  are  remains  of  what  were  three  circu- 
lar rooms.  At  the  end  of  the  wings,  outside  of  the  building,  are  faint  outlines 
of  other  circular  apartments  or  inclosures,  shown  by  dotted  lines  on  the 
plan.  In  the  central  portion  of  the  ruin,  between  the  two  wings,  some  rooms 
have  been  preserved  entire.  I crawled  down  into  one  of  these  through  a 
small  hole  in  the  covering,  and  found  its  walls  to  consist  of  delicate  masonry, 
thinly  plastered  and  whitewashed.  The  ceiling  was  formed  in  the  usual 
manner,  fine  willow  brush  supporting  the  earthen  door  above,  instead  of 
the  lath-like  sticks  or  thin  boards  that  were  used  in  the  exceptional  cases 
noted. 

Two  miles  below  the  Pueblo  del  Arroyo  are  the  mins  of  the  Pueblo  of 
Penasca  Blanca,  Fig.  39.  “This  is  the  largest  pueblo  in  plan  we  have  seen,” 
Lieutenant  Simpson  remarks,  “and  differs  from  others  in  the  arrangement 
of  the  stones  composing  its  walls.  The  walls  of  the  other  pueblos  were  all 
of  one  uniform  character  in  the  several  beds  composing  it;  but  in  this  there 
is  a regular  alternation  of  large  and  small  stones,  which  are  about  one  foot 
in  length  and  one-half  a foot  in  thickness,  form  but  a single  bed,  and  then, 
alternating  with  these,  are  three  or  four  beds  of  very  small  stones,  each 
about  an  inch  in  thickness.  The  general  plan  of  the  structure  also  differs 
from  the  others  in  approximating  the  form  of  the  circle.  The  number  of 
the  rooms  at  present  discoverable  upon  the  first  floor  is  one  hundred  and 
twelve;  and  the  existing  walls  show  that  there  have  been  at  least  three 
stories  of  apartments.  The  number  of  circular  estufas  we  counted  was 
seven.”1 

“In  point  of  size,”  Mr.  Jackson  remarks,  “the  rooms  of  this  ruin  will 
average  larger  than  in  most  of  the  others;  the  twenty-eight  rooms,  as  they 
appear  on  the  outer  circumference,  average  twenty  feet  in  length  from  wall 
to  wall  inside.  The  smallest,  which  are  only  ten  feet  wide,  are  at  the  two 


Simpson’s  Keporf,  p.  G4. 


1 6(5  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


ends.  The  width  of  the  rooms  of  each  tier  appears  to  have  been  constant 
throughout  the  length  of  the  whole  ruin.  The  dimensions  given  in  these 
drawings  are,  in  nearly  every  case,  of  those  apartments  which  constitute 
the  second  story,  as  it  is  in  those  that  there  is  the  least  obscuration  of  the 

walls. 

“In  most  of  the  ruins  the  first  floor  is  almost  entirely  filled  up  with 
debris,  but  when  the  ruins  can  be  followed  they  show  that  this  floor  is  gen- 
erally divided  into  much  smaller  apartments,  two  or  three  occurring  some- 
times in  place  of  each  one  above  them.  The  eastern  half  of  the  ellipse,  as 
above  said,  consists  of  a single  continuous  line  of  small  apartments,  with  a 
uniform  width  of  thirteen  feet  inside  and  an  average  length  of  twenty  feet. 
By  a curious  coincidence  the  same  number  of  rooms  are  in  this  row  as  in 
the  outer  tier  of  the  main  building.  The  walls  of  the  central  portion  for  a 
distance  of  about  two  hundred  feet  are  in  fair  preservation,  standing  in 
places  six  to  eight  feet  in  height,  the  dividing  walls  showing  apertures  lead- 
ing from  one  room  to  another.  They  are  built  of  stones  uniform  in  size, 
averaging  six  by  nine  by  three  and  a half  inches.  Mortar  was  used  between 
the  stones,  instead  of  the  small  plates  of  stone.  At  both  ends,  for  a distance 
of  some  two  hundred  feet  from  the  point  of  juncture  with  the  main  build- 
ing, the  walls  are  entirely  leveled,  but  enough  remains  to  show  the  dimen- 
sions of  each  apartment.  Twenty  yards  from  the  south  end  of  the  building- 
are  the  ruins  of  a great  circular  room  fifty  feet  in  diameter,  with  some  por- 
tions of  its  interior  wall  in  such  preservation  that  its  character  is  readily 
discernible.”1 

Without  the  canon,  upon  the  mesa,  and  about  half  a mile  back  of  the 
bluff,  upon  the  north  side,  are  the  ruins  of  the  Pueblo  Alto,  constructed  of 
stone  on  three  sides  of  a court,  like  those  before  described.  The  main 
building  is  three  hundred  feet  long,  and  one  wing  is  two  hundred  feet 
measured  externally  from  the  back  end  of  the  main  building,  the  other  wing 
is  one  hundred  and  seventy  feet  measured  the  same  way.  This  wing  is  but 
two  rooms  deep,  while  the  main  building  and  the  other  wing  are  each  three 
rooms  deep.  It  has  six  estufas,  with  remains  of  a convex  wall,  connecting 
the  two  wings,  and  inclosing  the  court.  These  estufas,  like  those  in  the 

1 Hayden’s  Tenth  Annual  Keport,  1878, p.  446. 


Fig.  39. — Ground  plan  of  Pueblo  Peuasca  Blanca. 


MORGAN.] 


CORONADO’S  RELATION. 


167 


other  jmeblos,  suggest  the  probability  that  they  were  places  for  holding  the 
councils  of  the  gentes  and  phratries. 

This  great  ruin,  with  two  others  of  smaller  size,  shown  in  Fig.  38  as 
No.  8 and  No.  9,  of  which  the  first  is  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  feet  long 
and  one  hundred  feet  deep,  and  the  other  seventy-eight  by  sixty-three  feet, 
both  of  stone,  complete  the  list  of  ruins  in  the  canon.  The  pueblo  of  Pintado, 
is,  however,  at  the  upper  end,  and  without  the  canon,  and  the  Pueblo  Alto, 
not  yet  described,  is  not  in  the  canon,  but  on  the.  bluff.  It  is  a remarkable 
display  of  ancient  edifices;  the  most  remarkable  in  New  Mexico.  With  the 
bordering  walls  of  the  canon,  rising  vertically,  in  places,  one  hundred  feet 
high,  it  presented  long  vistas  in  either  direction,  with  natural  and  inclosing 
walls.  Shut  in  from  all  view  of  the  table  lands  at  the  summit  of  these 
walls,  this  valley,  at  the  time  its  great  houses  were  occupied,  must  have  pre- 
sented a very  striking  picture  of  human  life  as  it  existed  in  the  Middle 
Period  of  Barbarism.  The  greater  part  of  the  valley  must  have  been 
covered  with  garden  beds,  from  which  the  people  derived  their  principal 
support,  as  the  mesa  lands  without  the  canon  were  too  dry  for  cultivation. 
It  no  doubt  presented  an  interesting  picture  of  industrious  and  contented 
life,  with  a corresponding  advancement  in  the  arts  of  this  period.  There  is 
still  some  uncertainty  concerning  the  time  when  these  pueblos  were  last 
occupied,  and  the  fate  of  their  inhabitants.  There  are  a number  of  circum- 
stances tending  to  show  that  they  were  the  “Seven  Cities  of  Cibola,”  against 
which  the  expedition  of  Coronado  was  directed  in  1540-1542.  There  are 
seven  pueblos  in  ruins  in  the  canon,  without  reckoning  Nos.  8 and  9,  the 
smallest  in  the  valley.  Some  of  the  facts  which  point  to  these  pueblos  as 
the  Towns  of  Cibola  may  here  be  noted. 

In  his  Relation  to  the  Viceroy,  which  is  dated  from  the  province  of  Ci- 
bola, August  3,  1540,  Coronado  describes  his  conquest  and  intimates  his 
disappointment  in  the  following  language: 

“It  remaineth  now  to  certify  your  Honor  of  the  seven  cities,  and  of 
the  kingdoms  and  provinces  whereof  the  Father  Provincial  made  report 
unto  your  Lordship.  And,  to  be  brief,  I can  assure  your  Honor  he  said  the 
truth  in  nothing  that  he  reported,  but  all  was  quite  contrary,  saving  only  the 
names  of  the  cities,  and  great  houses  of  stone;  for  although  they  be  not 


168  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


wrought  with  turqueses,  nor  with  lime,  nor  bricks,  yet  they  are  very  excellent 
good  houses,  of  three,  or  four,  or  five  lofts  high,  wherein  are  good  lodgings 
and  fair  chambers,  with  ladders  instead  of  stairs,  and  certain  cellars  under 
the  ground,  very  good  and  paved,  which  are  made  for  winter, — they  are  in 
manner  like  stoves;  and  the  ladders  which  they  have  for  their  houses  are  in 
a manner  moveable  and  portable,  which  are  taken  away  and  set  down  when 
they  please;  and  they  are  made  of  two  pieces  of  wood,  with  their  steps,  as 
ours  be.  The  seven  cities  are  seven  small  towns,  all  made  with  these  kind 
of  houses  that  I speak  of;  and  they  stand  all  within  four  leagues  together, 
and  they  are  all  called  the  Kingdom  of  Cibola,  and  every  one  of  them  have 
their  particular  name,  and  none  of  them  is  called  Cibola,  but  all  together 
they  are  called  Cibola.  And  this  town,  which  I call  a city,  I have  named 
Granada,  as  well  because  it  is  somewhat  like  unto  it,  as  also  in  remembrance 
of  your  Lordship.  In  this  town  where  I now  remain  there  may  be  some 
two  hundred  houses,  all  compassed  with  walls;  and,  I think,  that,  with  the 
rest  of  the  houses  which  are  not  so  walled,  they  may  be  together  five  hun- 
dred. There  is  another  town  near  this,  which  is  one  of  the  seven,  and  it  is 
somewhat  bigger  than  this,  and  another  of  the  same  bigness  that  this  is  of, 
and  the  four  are  somewhat  less ; and  I send  them  all  painted  unto  your 
Lordship  with  the  voyage.  And  the  parchment  wherein  the  picture  is  was 
found  here  with  other  parchments.  The  people  of  this  town  seem  unto  me 
of  a reasonable  stature,  and  witty,  yet  they  seem  not  to  be  such  as  they 
should  be,  of  that  judgment  and  wit  to  build  these  houses  in  such  sort  as 
they  are.  * * * They  travel  eight  days’  journey  unto  certain  plains 
lying  towards  the  North  Sea.  In  this  country  there  are  certain  skins,  well 
dressed;  and  they  dress  them  and  paint  them  where  they  kill  their  oxen 
[buffalo];  for  so  they  say  themselves.”1 

On  the  fourth  day  after  the  capture  of  Cibola,  Coronado  further  says: 
“ They  set  in  order  all  their  goods  and  substance,  their  women  and  children, 
and  fled  to  the  hills,  leaving  their  towns  as  it  were  abandoned,  wherein 
remained  very  few  of  them.”2 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  phrases  “great  houses  of  stone,”  and 
“good  houses  of  three,  or  four,  or  five  lofts  high,”  not  only  describe  the 


Hakluyt,  vol.  iii,  p.  377. 


lb.,  vol.  iii,  p.  379. 


MORGAN.] 


JAEAMILLO’S  RELATION. 


169 


pueblo  on  the  Chaco  in  apt  language,  but  there  are  no  other  pueblos  in 
New  Mexico,  exclusively  of  stone,  of  which  we  have  knowledge,  except 
those  of  the  Molds,  in  the  Canon  de  Chelly,  on  the  Animas  River,  and 
elsewhere  in  Southwestern  Colorado.  There  is  an  apparent  difficulty  in 
the  narrative,  in  the  reference  made  to  the  number  of  houses;  but  it  is 
evident,  I think,  that  Coronado  meant  apartments  or  sections,  treating  each 
great  house  as  a block  of  houses,  and  expressing  a doubt  of  their  “judg- 
ment and  wit  to  build  these  houses  in  such  sort  as  they  are.”  If  any  doubt 
remained,  it  is  entirely  removed  by  the  fact  that  all  the  pueblo  houses  in  New 
Mexico,  whether  occupied  or  in  ruins,  are  great  edifices  constructed  like 
these  on  the  communal  principle,  and  that  two  hundred  such  houses 
grouped  in  one  town  were  an  utter  impossibility. 

Jaramillo,  who  wrote  his  Relation  some  time  after  the  return  of  the 
expedition,  remarks,  “that  all  the  water-courses  that  we  fell  in  with,  whether 
brook  or  river,  as  far  as  that  of  Cibola,  and  I believe  for  one  or  two  days’ 
journey  beyond,  flow  in  the  direction  of  the  South  Sea  [the  Pacific]; 
farther  on  they  take  the  direction  of  the  North  Sea  [the  Atlantic].”1  This 
tends  to  show  that  Cibola  was  situated  on  a tributary  of  the  Colorado, 
which  gathers  all  the  waters  of  New  Mexico  west  of  the  Rio  Grande  and 
north  of  the  Gila,  and  also  that  it  was  situated  quite  near  the  dividing  ridge. 
It  is  but  ten  miles  from  the  Canon  de  Torrejon,  on  the  Puerco,  a tributary 
of  the  Rio  Grande,  to  the  commencement  of  the  Rio  de  Chaco,  an  affluent 
of  the  San  Juan,  and  but  twenty-three  miles  to  the  Pueblo  Pintado.  In 
this  respect  the  sites  of  the  ruins  on  the  Chaco  are  in  close  agreement  with 
the  description  of  the  situations  of  the  towns  of  Cibola.  Castaneda,  after 
speaking  of  the  seven  villages,  and  the  character  of  the  houses,  remarks 
that  “the  valley  is  very  narrow,  between  precipitous  mountains”  [“C’est 
une  vallee  trks-etroite  entre  des  montagues  escarpees”],2  which,  in  the  light 
of  Coronado’s  declaration,  that  “the  country  is  all  plain,  and  on  no  side 
mountains,”  may  perhaps  have  reference  to  the  encompassing  walls  of  the 
canon.  This  language,  literally  interpreted,  does  not  describe  this  canon, 
neither  is  there  any  valley  in  New  Mexico,  occupied  by  pueblos,  which 
answers  this  description. 


1 Coll.  H.  Ternaux-Compans,  vol.  ix,  p.  370. 


3 Castaneda  Relation,  Ternaux-Compans,  ix,  p.  164. 


170  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


Upon  the  evidence  contained  in  these  several  narratives,  and  with  our 
present  knowledge  of  New  Mexico,  the  sites  of  the  seven  towns  of  Cibola 
cannot  be  determined  with  certainty.  It  is  a question  of  probabilities.; 
and  those  which  seem  the  strongest  in  favor  of  the  ruins  on  the  Chaco  are 
the  following : Firstly,  they  are  superior,  architecturally,  to  any  pueblos 
in  New  Mexico,  now  existing  or  in  ruins,  and  agree  in  number  and  in  prox- 
imity to  each  other,  with  the  towns  of  Cibola  as  described  Secondly, 
they  are  upon  an  affluent  of  the  San  Juan,  and  within  “one  or  two  days’ 
journey”  of  the  waters  which  flow  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico;  in  other 
words,  they  are  near  the  summit  of  the  watershed  of  the  two  oceans,  where 
Jaramillo  distinctly  states  Cibola  was  situated.  Thirdly,  they  are  within 
eight  days  of  the  buffalo  ranges,  the  nearest  of  which  are  upon  the  north- 
eastern confines  of  New  Mexico.  Cibola  was  said  to  be  thus  situated. 
Moreover,  the  name  Cibola  implies  the  buffalo  country.  We  are  also  told 
by  Friar  Marcos  that  the  Indians  south  of  the  Gila  trafficked  with  the 
Cibolans  for  ox-liides,  which  he  found  them  wearing.  Zufii,  the  only 
known  place,  showing  a probability  that  it  was  one  of  the  seven  towns,  is 
too  far  distant  from  the  buffalo  ranges  to  answer  to  this  portion  of  the  nar- 
rative. Lastly,  the  evidence,  collectively,  favors  a far  northern  as  well  as 
far  eastern  position  for  Cibola.  The  people  of  Cibola  knew  nothing  of 
either  ocean.  This  could  hardly  have  been  true  of  the  people  of  Zuni 
with  respect  to  the  Pacific,  or  at  least  the  Gulf  of  California.  Coronado 
himself  was  in  doubt  as  to  which  sea  was  nearest,  and  seems  to  have  been 
conscious  of  the  widening  of  the  continent  upon  both  sides  of  him.  Assum- 
ing that  the  pueblos  on  the  Chaco  were  inhabited  in  1540,  they  were  the 
finest  structures  then  in  New  Mexico.  Coronado  captured  all  the  villages 
on  the  Rio  Grande,  and  probably  sent  a detachment  to  the  Moki  Pueblos, 
and  remained  two  years  in  the  country.  It  seems  impossible,  therefore, 
that  he  should  have  failed  to  find  the  pueblos  on  the  Chaco ; and  they 
answer  his  description  better  than  any  other  pueblos  in  New  Mexico. 

With  respect  to  the  manner  of  constructing  these  houses,  it  was  prob- 
ably done,  as  elsewhere  remarked,  from  time  to  time,  and  from  generation 
to  generation.  Like  a feudal  castle,  each  house  was  a growth  by  additions 
from  small  beginnings,  made  as  exigencies  required.  When  one  of  these 


MORGAN.] 


HOUSES  GRADUALLY  CONSTRUCTED. 


171 


houses,  after  attaining1  a sufficient  size,  became  overcrowded  with  inhabit- 
ants, it  is  probable  that  a strong  colony,  like  the  swarm  from  the  parent 
hive,  moved  out,  and  commenced  a new  house,  above  or  below,  in  the 
same  valley.  This  would  be  repeated,  as  .the  people  prospered,  until 
several  pueblos  grew  up  within  an  extent  of  twelve  or  fifteen  miles,  as  in 
the  valley  of  the  Chaco.  When  the  capabilities  of  the  valley  were  becom- 
ing overtaxed  for  their  joint  subsistence,  the  colonists  would  seek  more  dis- 
tant homes.  At  the  period  of  the  highest  prosperity  of  these  pueblos,  the 
valley  of  the  Chaco  must  have  possessed  remarkable  advantages  for  sub- 
sistence The  plain  between  the  walls  of  the  canon  was  between  half 
a mile  a (id  a mile  in  width  near  the  several  pueblos,  but  the  amount  of 
water  now  passing  through  it  is  small.  In  July,  according  to  Lieutenant 
Simpson,  the  running  stream  was  eight  feet  wide  and  a foot  and  a half  deep 
at  one  of  the  pueblos;  while  Mr.  Jackson  found  no  running  water  and  the 
valley  entirely  dry  in  the  month  of  May,  with  the  exception  of  pools  of 
water  in  places  and  a reservoir  of  pure  water  in  the  rocks  at  the  top  of  the 
bluff.  The  condition  of  the  region  is  shown  by  these  two  statements. 
During  the  rainy  season  in  the  summer,  which  is  also  the  season  of  the 
growing  crops,  there  is  an  abundance  of  water ; while  in  the  dry  season 
it  is  confined  to  springs,  pools,  and  reservoirs.  From  the  number  of 
pueblos  in  the  valley,  indicating  a population  of  several  thousand,  the 
gardens  within  it  must  have  yielded  a large  amount  of  subsistence ; the 
climate  being  favorable  to  its  growth  and  ripening. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

BUINS  OF  HOUSES  OF  THE  SEDENTABY  INDIANS  OF  THE  SAN  JUAN 
BIVEB  AND  ITS  TBIBUTABIES— CONTINUED. 

About  sixty  miles  north  of  the  pueblos  on  the  Chaco,  and  in  the  valley 
of  the  Animas  River,  is  a cluster  of  stone  pueblos,  very  similar  to  the 
former.  These  I visited  in  1878.  The  valley  is  broad  at  this  point,  and  for 
some  miles  above  and  below  to  its  mouth.  At  the  time  of  our  visit  (July 
22)  the  river  was  a broad  stream,  carrying  a large  volume  of  water.  We 
followed  down  the  river  from  the  point  of  its  rise  in  the  dividing  range, 
where  it  was  a mere  brook,  nearly  the  whole  distance  through  Silverton  to 
Animas  City.  The  constant  accession  of  mountain  streams,  and  the  rapid 
descent  of  its  bed,  soon  changed  it  into  a noisy  and  dashing  stream  About 
twenty  miles  above  Animas  City  we  were  compelled  to  ascend  to  the  top  of 
the  bordering  mountains  to  avoid  the  narrow  canon  below,  which  was  im- 
passable; and  in  descending  from  Animas  City  to  visit  these  pueblos  we 
crossed  over  to  the  La  Plata  Valley,  and  after  passing  through  this  valley 
we  recrossed  to  the  Animas  Valley  to  avoid  similar  canons  also  impassable. 
The  supply  of  water  for  irrigation  at  the  pueblo  was  abundant. 

The  pueblo  of  which  the  ground1  plan  is  shown,  Fig.  40,  is  one  of  four 
situated  within  the  extent  of  one  mile  on  the  west  side  of  the  Animas  River 
in  New  Mexico,  about  twelve  miles  above  its  mouth  Besides  these  four, 
there  are  five  other  smaller  ruins  of  inferior  structures  within  the  same  area. 
This  pueblo  was  five  or  perhaps  six  stories  high,  consisting  of  a main  build- 
ing three  hundred  and  sixty-eight  feet  long,  and  two  wings  two  hundred 
and  seventy  feet  long,  measured  along  the  external  wall  on  the  right  and 
left  sides,  and  one  hundred  and  ninety-nine  feet  measured  along  the  inside 

lTlie  engravings  of  Figs.  40,  41,  and  41a,  were  kindly  loaned  by  Mr.  F.  W.  Putnam  of  the  Pea- 
body Museum,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

172 


MORGAN.] 


RUINS  OF  PUEBLO  ON  ANIMAS  RIVER. 


173 


from  the  end  back  to  the  main  building’.  A fourth  structure  crosses  from 
the  end  of  one  wing  to  the  end  of  the  other,  thus  inclosing  an  open  court. 
It  was  of  the  width  of  one  and  perhaps  two  rows  of  apartments,  and  slightly 


convex  outward,  which  enlarged  somewhat  the  size  of  the  court.  The  main 
building  and  the  wings  were  built  in  the  so-called  terraced  form;  that  is  to 
say,  the  first  row  of  apartments  in  the  main  building  and  in  each  wing  on 
the  court  side  were  but  one  story  high.  The  second  row  back  of  these  were 


1 74  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 

carried  up  two  stories  high,  the  third  row  three  stories,  and  so  on  to  the 
number  of  five  stories  for  the  main  building-  and  four  for  each  wing.  The 
external  wall  rose  forty  or  fifty  feet  where  the  structure  was  five  stories 
high  and  but  ten  feet  on  the  court  side,  including  a low  parapet  wall,  where 
the  structure  was  but  one  story  high.  There  was  no  entrance  to  these  great 
structures  in  the  ground  story.  After  getting  admission  within  the  court, 
they  ascended  to  the  roof  of  the  first  row  of  apartments  by  means  of  lad- 
ders, and  in  the  same  way,  by  ladders,  to  each  successive  story.  As  the 
second  story  receded  from  the  first,  the  third  from  the  second,  and  so  on, 
each  successive  story  made  a great  step  ten  feet  high.  The  apartments 
were  entered  through  trap-doors  in  the  roof  of  each  story,  the  descent  being 
by  ladders  inside.  In  some  places,  without  doubt,  the  upper  stories  were 
entered  by  doorways  from  the  roof  of  the  story  in  front. 

The  two  wings  are  a mass  of  ruins.  Pit-holes  along  the  summit  show 
the  forms  of  the  rooms,  with  plain  traces  of  the  original  walls  here  and 
there,  and  excavations,  made  by  curious  settlers,  have  opened  a number  of 
rooms  in  the  ground  story7  of  one  of  the  wings.  These  we  entered  and 
measured.  Some  of  the  rooms  were  faced  with  stone,  i.  e.,  we  found  a stone 
wall  regularly7  laid  up,  like  the  one  in  the  main  building,  as  will  else- 
where be  shown.  Some  of  the  walls  in  these  rooms  were  of  cobblestone 
and  adobe;  others  were  of  stone  with  natural  faces  and  cobblestone  inter- 
mixed. We  saw  no  wall  of  adobe  brick  alone.  The  fallen  walls  formed  a 
mass  about  twelve  feet  deep  over  the  site  of  the  wings,  being  the  deepest 
on  the  outside  and  thinning  out  on  the  court  side. 

The  mass  of  material  used  in  the  construction  of  these  edifices  was 
very  great  and  surprises  the  beholder.  It  is  explained  in  part  by7  the  thick- 
ness of  the  walls.  We  measured  a number  of  them.  They  were  two  feet 
four  inches,  two  feet  six  inches,  two  feet  nine  inches,  three  feet,  and  in  rare 
cases  three  feet  six  inches  thick.  None  measured  less  than  two  feet. 

The  main  building  was  originally  the  best  constructed  part  of  the  edifice, 
it  may  be  supposed,  because  a part  of  it  now  remains  standing.  The  walls 
of  the  first  story,  of  some  part  of  the  second,  and,  in  some  places,  of  a part  of 
the  third  story,  forming  the  second  row  of  apartments  from  the  outside,  are 
still  standing,  and  rise  about  twenty-five  feet  from  the  ground.  The  meas- 


MORGAN.] 


DESCKIPTION  OF  EUINS. 


175 


urements  of  the  second  row  of  apartments,  as  shown  in  the  diagram,  were 
from  the  standing  walls,  and  were  made  in  the  second  story. 

The  first  or  basement  story  is  filled  up  with  the  rubbish  of  the  fallen 
walls,  ceilings,  and  floors,  in  the  second  row  of  apartments  named.  In 
some  cases  they  are  full  above  the  line  of  the  original  ceilings;  in  others 
nearly  up  to  them.  The  main  ceiling  beams  were  of  yellow  cedar  from 
eight  to  twelve  inches  in  diameter,  usually  three  and  four  in  number,  and 
were  placed  across  the  narrow  way  of  the  room.  Stubs  of  these  beams 
still  remain  in  the  walls  parallel  with  the  court.  Just  above  the  line  of 
these  beams  in  the  other  two  walls  were  the  ends  of  a row  of  poles  about 
four  inches  in  diameter,  which  passed  transversely  across  the  cedar  beams. 
Stubs  of  these  poles,  broken  off  short  at  the  line  of  the  walls,  still  remain 
in  place.  Upon  these  poles  were  originally  thin  pieces  of  split  cedar  limbs, 
and  then  the  floor  of  adobe  mortar,  four  or  five  inches  thick.  We  thus  get 
the  position  and  height  of  the  floor  of  the  first  and  second  stories,  which 
were  about  nine  feet  six  inches  for  the  ground  story,  and  nine  feet  for  the 
second  story. 

The  external  wall  of  the  main  building1  has  fallen  the  entire  length  of 
the  structure.  As  these  ruins  are  resorted  to  by  the  few  settlers  in  the 
valley  as  a stone  quarry  to  obtain  stone  for  foundations  to  their  houses  and 
barns,  and  for  stoning  up  their  wells,  the  loose  material  is  being  gradually 
removed;  and  when  the  standing  walls  are  more  convenient  to  take  they 
will  be  removed  also.  One  farmer  told  me  he  thought  that  one  quarter  of 
the  accessible  material  of  this  and  the  adjacent  stone  pueblo  had  already 
been  removed.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  number  of  these  settlers  inclined 
to  Vandalism  will  not  increase. 

A part  of  the  partition  walls  which  connected  the  outside  wall  with  the 
next  parallel  wall  is  still  standing  where  the  wall  last  named  rises  above  the 
second  story.  They  stand  out  for  three  or  four  feet  like  buttresses  against 
the  wall,  and  show  that  the  masonry  of  the  parallel  and  transverse  walls  was 
articulated,  that  the  partition  walls  were  continuous  from  front  to  rear,  and 
that  the  walls  of  the  several  stories  rested  upon  each  other.  All  this  is  seen 
by  a bare  inspection  of  the  walls  as  they  now  stand. 

The  masonry  itself  is  the  chief  matter  of  interest  in  these  structures. 


176  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


Every  room  in  the  main  building  was  faced  with  stone  on  the  four  sides, 
having  an  adobe  floor  and  a wooden  ceiling.  Each  room  had,  as  far  as 
walls  now  remain  to  show,  two  doorways  through  the  walls  parallel  with 
the  court,  and  four  openings  about  twelve  inches  square,  two  on  the  side  of 
each  doorway,  near  the  ceiling.  These  openings  were  for  light  and  venti- 
lation. In  a limited  sense  it  may  be  said  that  the  stones  were  dressed,  and 
also  that  they  were  laid  in  courses,  but,  in  the  high  and  strict  meaning  of 
these  terms,  neither  is  true.  The  stones  used  were  small  and  of  different 
sizes.  Sometimes  they  were  nearly  square,  from  six  to  eight  inches  on  a 
side;  sometimes  a foot  long  by  six  inches  wide.  The  latter  is  the  size  of 
the  stones  used  at  Uxmal  and  Chichen  Itza,  according  to  Norman.  In  some 
cases  longer  and  thicker  stones  were  used  without  any  attempt  to  square  the 
ends.  In  some  instances  thin  pieces  of  stone  were  employed  with  parallel 
faces.  In  all  cases  the  stone  was  a sandstone,  now  of  a reddish  brown 
color.  It  is  the  prevailing  stone  in  the  bluffs  of  the  Animas  River,  and  of 
all  the  rivers  parallel  with  it  running  into  the  San  Juan,  as  far  as  personal 
observation  enabled  me  to  judge.  It  is  a soft  rather  than  a hard  stone,  usu- 
ally of  a buff  color  when  first  quarried,  and  some  of  it  has  decayed  in  the 
using.  The  wasted  and  weatherworn  appearance  of  some  of  these  stones 
would  otherwise  indicate  a very  great  age  for  the  structure.  With  stone 
of  the  size  used  a good  face  can  be  formed  by  simple  fracture,  and  a joint 
sufficiently  close  may  be  made  by  a few  strokes  with  a stone  maul.  If  finer 
work  was  aimed  at,  it  must  have  been  accomplished  by  rubbing  the  stones 
to  a face.  But  this  work  is  sufficiently  explained  by  the  former  processes. 
In  the  row  of  apartments  and  stories  named,  both  faces  of  each  wall  were 
of  stone,  so  that  all  of  the  apartments  were  of  stone  on  the  inside.  They 
were  fair  walls,  both  in  masonry  and  workmanship,  and  creditable  to  the 
builders.  There  was  an  attempt  to  lay  up  these  walls  in  courses  of  uniform 
thickness,  but  each  course  differing  from  the  one  above  and  below  it.  The 
attempt  was  only  partially  successful.  They  did  not  hesitate  to  break  in 
upon  the  regularity  of  the  courses.  Some  of  the  standing  walls  are  now 
sprung ; but  most  of  them  are  straight,  and  fairly  vertical,  the  adobe  mor- 
tar being  sound  and  the  bond  unbroken. 

The  Indian  had  a string  from  time  immemorial.  With  it  he  could  strike 


MORGAN.] 


ADOBE  MORTAR, 


177 


a circle,  and  lay  out  the  four  sides  of  a quadrangular  structure  with  tolera- 
ble correctness.  It  is  not  too  much  to  assume  that  with  a string  and  sinker 
attached  the  Village  Indian  had  the  plumb-line,  and  could  prove  his  wall 
as  well  as  we  can.  At  all  events,  the  eye  still  proves  the  general  correctness 
of  their  work. 

The  adobe  mortar  of  the  Pueblo  Indians  is  something  more  than  mud 
mortar,  although  far  below  a mortar  of  lime  and  sand.  Adobe  is  a kind  of 
finely  pulverized  clay  with  a bond  of  considerable  strength  by  mechanical 
cohesion.  In  Southern  Colorado,  in  Arizona,  and  New  Mexico,  there  are 
immense  tracts  covered  with  what  is  called  adobe  soil.  It  varies  somewhat 
in  the  degree  of  its  excellence.  The  kind  of  which  they  make  their  pottery 
has  the  largest  per  cent,  of  alumina,  and  its  presence  is  indicated  by  the 
salt  weed  which  grows  in  this  particular  soil.  This  kind  also  makes  the  best 
adobe  mortar.  The  Indians  use  it  freely  in  laying  their  walls,  as  freely  as 
our  masons  use  lime  mortar ; and  although  it  never  acquires  the  hardness 
of  cement,  it  disintegrates  slowly.  The  mortar  in  these  walls  is  still  sound, 
so  that  it  requires  some  effort  of  strength  to  loosen  a stone  from  the  w;  dl 
and  remove  it.  But  this  adobe  mortar  is  adapted  only  to  the  dry  climate 
of  Southern  Colorado,  Arizona,  and  New  Mexico,  where  the  precipitation  is 
less  than  five  inches  per  annum.  The  rains  and  frosts  of  a northern  climate 
would  speedily  destroy  it.  To  the  presence  of  this  adobe  soil,  found  in 
such  abuudance  in  the  regions  named,  and  to  the  sandstone  of  the  bluffs, 
where  masses  are  often  found  in  fragments,  we  must  attribute  the  great 
progress  made  by  these  Indians  in  house-building. 

The  exclusive  presence  of  this  adobe  mortar  in  all  New  Mexican  struc- 
tures of  the  aboriginal  period  shows  that  the  tribes  of  New  Mexico  were 
then  ignorant  of  a mortar  of  lime  and  sand.  And  here  a digression  may 
be  allowed  to  consider  whether  a cement  of  this  grade  was  known  to  the 
aborigines.  Theoretically,  the  use  of  a mortar  composed  of  quick-lime  and 
sand,  which  gives  a cement  chemically  united,  would  not  be  expected  of  the 
Indian  tribes  either  in  North  or  South  America.  There  is  no  sufficient 
proof  that  they  ever  produced  a cement  of  this  high  grade.  It  requires  a 
kiln,  artificially  constructed,  and  a concentrated  heat  to  burn  limestone  into 
lime,  supposing  they  had  learned  that  lime  could  be  thus  obtained,  and  some 
12 


178  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


knowledge  of  the  properties  of  quick-lime  before  they  reached  the  idea  of 
a true  cement.  The  Spanish  writers  generally  speak  of  walls  of  lime  and 
stone,  thus  implying  a mortar  of  lime  and  sand.  Thus,  Bernal  Diaz  speaks 
of  the  great  temple  in  the  Pueblo  of  Mexico  as  surrounded  “with  double 
enclosures  built  of  stone  and  lime.”1 *  Clavigero  remarks  that  “the  houses 
of  lords  and  people  of  circumstances  were  built  of  stone  and  lime.”5 *  Again, 
“ the  ignorant  Mr.  De  Pauw  denies  that  the  Mexicans  had  either  the  knowl- 
edge  or  made  use  of  lime;  but  it  is  evident  from  the  testimony  of  all  the 
historians  of  Mexico,  by  tribute  rolls,  and  above  all  from  the  ancient  build- 
ings still  remaining,  that  all  these  nations  made  the  same  use  of  lime  as  all 
the  Europeans  do.”3  In  like  manner,  Herrera,  speaking  of  Zempoala,  near 
Vera  Cruz,  remarks  that  the  Spaniards,  entering  the  town,  found  “the 
houses  [were]  built  of  lime  and  stone;”4  and  again,  speaking  of  the  houses 
in  Yucatan,  he  remarks  that  “at  the  place  where  the  encounter  happened, 
there  were  three  houses  built  of  lime  and  stone.”5  These  several  state- 
ments can  hardly  be  said  to  prove  the  fact  of  the  use  of  a mortar  of  lime 
and  sand.  Mr.  John  L.  Stephens,  in  speaking  of  the  ruins  at  Palenque,  is 
more  explicit:  “The  building  was  constructed  of  stone,  with  a mortar  of 
lime  and  sand,  and  the  whole  front  was  covered  with  stucco,  and  painted.”1’ 
The  back  wall  of  the  governor’s  house  at  Uxmal  is  nine  feet  thick  through 
its  length  of  two  hundred  and  seventy  feet  In  this  wall,  by  means  of 
crowbars,  “ the  Indians  made  a hole  six  and  seven  feet  deep,  but  through- 
out the  wall  was  solid  and  consisted  of  large  stones  imbedded  in  mortar, 
almost  as  hard  as  rock.”7  At  the  ruins  of  Zayi,  there  was  one  row  of  ten 
apartments,  two  hundred  and  twenty  feet  long,  called  the  Casas  Cerrada, 
or  closed  house,  because  the  core  over  which  the  triangular  ceiling  was  con- 
structed had  not  been  removed  when  the  house  was  abandoned,  of  which 
Stephens  says,  “We  found  ourselves  in  apartments  finished  with  the 
walls  and  ceilings  like  the  others,  but  filled  up  (except  so  far  as  they  had 

1 The  True  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico,  Keatiuge’s  Translation,  Salem  ed.,  1803,  vol.  i,  p.  20S. 

^History  of  Mexico,  Cullen’s  Trans.,  Pliila.  ed.,  1817,  vol.  ii,  p.  232. 

0 lb.,  vol.  ii,  p.  237. 

••History  of  America,  Stevens’  Trans.,  London  ed.,  1725,  vol.  ii, p.266. 

6 lb. , p.  112. 

0 Central  America,  Chiapas  and  Yucatan,  vol.  ii,  p.  310. 

7 lb.,  vol.  i,  p.  178. 


MORGAN.] 


STONES  USED  SHOW  NATURAL  EAOES. 


179 


been  emptied  by  the  Indians)  with  solid  masses  of  mortar  and  stones.”1 
Norman,  speaking  of  the  ruins  of  the  House  of  the  Cacique  at  Chichen, 
remarks,  “that  the  wall  is  made  of  large  and  uniformly  square  blocks  of 
limestone  set  in  mortar,  which  appears  to  be  as  durable  as  the  stone  itself.”2 
Elsewhere,  speaking  of  the  ruins  of  Yucatan  generally,  he  observes,  “the 
stones  are  cut  in  parallelopipeds  of  about  twelve  inches  in  length  and  six  in 
breadth,  the  interstices  filled  up  of  the  same  materials  of  which  the  terraces 
are  composed.”3  That  these  tribes  used  mortar  of  some  kind  in  their  stone 
walls  cannot  be  doubted,  but  these  several  statements  do  not  prove  the  use 
of  quick-lime,  which  is  the  main  question  Mr.  Stephens’  statement  satis- 
fied me  until  I saw  the  New  Mexican  pueblos.  These  show  that  a very 
efficient  mortar  can  be  had  without  the  use  of  lime.  The  Indians  of  Mexico 
and  the  coast  tribes  near  Vera  Cruz  plastered  their  houses  externally  with 
gypsum,  which  made  them  a brilliant  white,  and  the  stucco  used  upon 
the  inner  walls  of  houses  in  Chiapas  and  Yucatan  was  not  unlikely  made 
of  gypsum.  This  mineral  is  abundant  as  well  as  easily  treated.  From  it 
comes  plaster  of  Paris,  and  from  it  may  have  come  in  some  form  the  bond 
which  held  the  mortar  together,  to  the  strength  of  which  Mr.  Stephens  refers. 

The  neatness  and  general  correctness  of  the  masonry  is  now  best  seen 
in  the  doorways.  In  the  standing  walls  of  the  second  story,  and  of  the 
first,  where  occasionally  uncovered,  there  are  to  be  seen  two  doorways  in 
each  room,  as  before  stated,  running  in  all  cases  across  the  building  from  the 
court  side  toward  the  external  wall,  and  never  in  the  direction  of  its  length. 
These  doorways  measured  some  three  feet  two  inches  in  height  by  two  feet 
six  inches  in  width,  and  others  three  feet  four  inches  by  two  feet  seven 
inches. 

The  stone  used  in  these  doorways  are  rather  smaller  than  those  in 
other  parts  of  the  wall,  but  prepared  in  the  same  manner. 

I brought  away  two  of  these  stones,  taken  from  the  standing  walls  of 
the  main  building,  as  samples  of  the  character  of  the  work  with  respect  to 
size  and  dressing.  Fig.  41  represents  one  of  them,  engraved  from  a photo- 
graph. It  measures  eight  inches  in  its  greatest  length  by  six  inches  in  its 
greatest  width,  and  it  is  two  and  three-quarter  inches  in  thickness.  The 


Central  American,  Chiapas  and  Yucatan,  vol.  ii,  p.  23. 


-Rambles  in  Yucatan,  p.  120.  3Ib.,  p.  127. 


180  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


upper  and  lower  faces  of  the  stone  are  substantially,  but  not  exactly,  paral- 
lel. It  also  shows  one  angle,  which  is  substantially,  but  not  exactly,  a right 
angle  and  it  was  so  adjusted  that  the  long  edge  was  on  the  doorway  and 
short  one  in  the  wall  of  a chamber  or  apartment,  with  the  right  angle  at 

the  corner  between 
them.  This  stone  was 
evidently  prepared  by 
fracture,  probably  with 
a stone  maul,  and  the 
regularity  of  the  break- 
age was  doubtless  partly 
Fig.  41.  Stone  from  doorway.  due  to  skill  and  partly 

to  accident.  It  shows  no  marks  of  the  chisel  or  the  drove,  or  of  having 
been  rubbed,  and  where  the  square  is  applied  to  the  sides  or  angles  the 
rudeness  of  the  stone  is  perfectly  apparent. 

Fig.  41  a represents  a sandstone  cut  by  American  skilled  workmen  in 
the  form  of  a brick,  and  it  is  intended  to  show  by  comparison  the  great  dif- 
ference between  the  dressed  stone  of  the 
civilized  man  and  the  ruder  stone  of  the 
mason  in  the  condition  of  barbarism.  The 
comparison  shows  that  no  instruments  of 


exactness  were  used  in  the  stone  work  of 
the  pueblo,  and  that  exactness  was  not  at- 
tempted. But  the  accuracy  of  a practiced 
comparison  with  Fig.  4i.  eye  aiK{  hand,  such  as  their  methods  af- 

forded, was  reached,  and  this  was  all  they  attempted.  With  stones  as  rude 
as  that  shown  in  the  figure,  a fair  and  even  respectable  stone  wall  may 
be  laid.  The  art  of  architecture  in  stone  is  of  slow  and  difficult  growth. 
Stone  prepared  by  fracture  with  a stone  hammer  precedes  dressed  stone, 
which  requires  metallic  implements.  In  like  manner  mud  mortar  or  adobe 
mortar  precedes  a mortar  of  lime  and  sand.  The  Village  Indians  of  America 
were  working  their  way  experimentally,  and  step  by  step,  in  the  art  of 
house-building,  as  all  mankind  have  been  obliged  to  do,  each  race  for 
itself;  and  the  structures  the  Village  Indians  have  raised  in  various  parts 


MORGAN.] 


WOODEN  LINTELS. 


181 


of  America,  imperfect  as  they  are  by  contrast,  are  highly  creditable  to  their 
intelligence. 

Stone  lintels  were  not  used  for  these  doorways,  as  stones  three  feet 
long  would  have  been  required.  No  stones  of  half  that  length  are  to  be 
seen  in  any  of  the  walls.  They  had,  however,  the  idea  of  a stone  lintel, 
for  they  used  them  in  this  structure  over  the  foot-square  openings  for  light 
and  air.  We  found  a stone  lintel  over  an  opening  eighteen  inches  wide  in 
a cliff  house  on  the  Mancos  River.  This  was  so  firmly  imbedded  that  wo 
found  its  removal  impossible.  They  used  for  a lintel  six  round  cedar  cross- 
pieces, Fig.  42,  each  about  four  inches  in  diameter  and  now  perfectly 
sound. 

In  some  of  these  doorways  we  noticed  a peculiar  feature.  On  the  side 
toward  the  external  wall,  one  and  sometimes  two  of  these  wooden  lintels 
were  placed,  four  and  sometimes  six  inches  lower  than  the  remainder,  so 
that  on  entering  from  the  outside  room  into  the  second  room,  the  top  of  the 
doorway  rose  higher  as  the  room  was  entered.  A necessity  was  experi 
enced  to  save  the  head  from  bumps,  and  the  wonder  is  that  it  did  not  occur 


to  them  to  raise  the  doorways  to  the  height  of  the  body.  As  the  doorways 
were  always  open,  no  doors  being  used,  it  may  well  be  that  larger  openings 
would  have  created  stronger  currents  of  air  through  the  building  than  they 
wished.  The  ends  of  these  lintels  were  hacked  off  by  stoile  implements  of 
some  kind. 

The  peculiar  arrangement  of  the  doorways  tends  to  show  that  this 
great  house  was  divided  into  sections  by  the  partition  walls  extending  from 
the  court  to  the  exterior  wall;  and  that  the  rooms  above  were  connected 
with  those  below  by  means  of  trap-doors  and  ladders.  If  this  supposition 
be  well  founded,  the  five  rooms  on  the  ground  floor,  from  the  court  back, 
communicated  with  each  other  by  doorways.  "The  four  in  the  second  story 


182  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


communicated  with  each  other  in  the  same  manner,  and  with  those  below 
through  trap-doors  in  the  floors  The  three  rooms  in  the  third  story  com- 
municated witli  each  other  by  doorways,  and  with  those  below  as  before. 
The  same  would  be  true  of  the  two  rooms  of  the  fourth  story.  It  seems 
probable  that  the  connected  rooms  were  occupied  by  a group  of  related 
families. 

We  afterwards  found  the  same  thing  nearly  exemplified  in  the  present 
occupied  Pueblo  of  Taos,  in  New  Mexico.  We  found  that  the  families  lived 
in  the  second  and  upper  stories,  and  used  the  rooms  below  them  for  storage 
and  for  granaries.  Each  family  had  two,  four,  and  six  rooms,  and  those 
who  held  the  upper  rooms  held  those  below. 

In  the  south  wing  before  mentioned,  several  rooms  on  the  ground  floor 
are  still  perfect,  with  the  ceilings  in  place  upholding  the  rubbish  above. 
The  openings  or  trap-doorways  of  two  of  these  rooms  are  still  perfect,  but 
the  ladders  are  gone.  The  rooms  had  been  opened,  as  elsewhere  stated,  by 
late  explorers.  One  of  these  trap-doors  measured  sixteen  by  seventeen 
inches,  and  the  other  sixteen  inches  square.  Each  was  formed  in  the  floor 
by  pieces  of  wood  put  together.  The  work  was  neatly  done.  These  rooms 
were  smaller  than  the  rooms  above.  Some  were  as  narrow  as  four  feet  six 
inches,  others  six  feet,  showing  that  one  room  had  been  divided  into  two. 
The  basement  rooms  were  probably  occupied  for  storage  exclusively,  whence 
their  division.  They  were  dark,  except  as  light  entered  through  the  trap- 
doorway from  above. 

The  structure  connecting  the  wings  and  bounding  the  court  was  evi- 
dently a single  or  double  row  of  apartments.  This  is  shown  by  the  amount 
of  fallen  material,  which  is  larger  than  a wall  would  require,  and  from  pits 
or  depressions  which  plainly  marked  the  outline  of  apartments. 

There  are  two  circular  estufas  in  the  main  building,  one  twenty-three 
feet  and  the  other  twenty-eight  feet  in  diameter.  A part  of  the  wall  of  the 
first  -estufa  is  still  standing.  It  is  of  stone,  mostly  of  blocks  about  five 
inches  square,  and  laid  in  courses,  with  considerable  regularity.  The  work 
is  equal  to  the  best  masonry  in  the  edifice.  In  the  open  court,  and  near 
the  outer  structure,  bounding  it  in  front,  is  another  estufa  of  great  size,  sixty- 
three  and  a half  feet  in  diameter.  These  estufas , which  are  used  as  places 


MORGAN.] 


NO  CHIMNEYS  IN  BUILDING. 


183 


of  council,  and  for  the  performance  of  their  religious  rites,  are  still  found 
at  all  the  present  occupied  pueblos  in  New  Mexico.  There  are  six  at  Taos, 
three  at  each  house,  and  they  are  partly  sunk  in  the  ground  by  an  exca- 
vation. They  are  entered  through  a trap-doorway  in  the  roof,  the  descent 
being  by  a ladder. 

Outside  the  front  wall  closing  the  court,  and  about  thirty  feet  distance 
therefrom,  are  the  remains  of  a low  wall  crossing  the  entire  front  and  extend- 
ing beyond  it.  The  end  structures  were  about  sixty -five  feet  long  by  forty 
feet  wide,  while  at  the  center  was  a smaller  structure,  fifty -four  feet  long  by 
eighteen  wide.  All  its  parts  were  connected.  It  was  evidently  erected  for 
defensive  purposes;  but  it  is  impossible  to  make  out  its  character  from  the 
remains.  One  wing  is  several  feet  longer  than  the  other,  and  the  wall  on 
the  court  side  is  about  twenty  feet  longer  than  the  opposite  exterior  wall, 
thus  showing  that  they  used  no  exact  measurements. 

There  were  no  fire-places  with  chimneys  in  this  structure.  There  are  none 
in  the  ruins  in  Yhicatan  and  Central  America.  It  is  a fair  inference,  therefore, 
that  chimneys  were  entirely  unknown  to  the  aborigines  at  the  time  of  their 
discovery.  They  have  since  that  time  been  adopted  into  the  old  pueblo 
houses  from  American  or  Spanish  sources.  They  are  placed  in  one  corner 
of  the  room.  We  saw  recently  at  Taos  two  chimneys  and  two  fire-places 
in  one  and  the  same  room,  one  for  cooking  and  the  other  for  a fire  to  warm 
the  room;  proof  conclusive  that  they  were  not  to  the  chimney  born.  They 
were  in  an  apartment  of  one  of  the  principal  chiefs 

In  a number  of  rooms  are  recesses  like  niches  left  in  the  wall,  about  two 
feet  six  inches  wide  and  high,  and  about  eighteen  inches  deep.  These  fur- 
nished places  to  set  household  articles  in,  in  the  place  of  a mantel  or  shelf. 
We  afterwards  saw  niches  precisely  similar  at  Taos,  and  thus  used. 

It  remains  to  consider  the  number  of  rooms  or  apartments  contained 
in  this  great  edifice.  It  is  plain  that  it  was  built  in  the  terraced  form,  the 
second  story  set  back  from  the  first,  the  third  from  the  second,  and  so  on  to 
the  last,  which  was  a single  row  of  apartments,  on  the  top  somewhere,  but 
not  necessarily  on  the  back  side.  Pueblos  were  not  entirely  uniform  in 
this  respect.  The  edifice  at  Taos  recedes  in  front  and  rear  and  even  upon 
the  sides.  This  may  have  been  built  in  the  same  way,  but  it  can  neither 


184  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


be  proved  nor  disproved  from  the  ruins.  The  number  of  apartments 
would  not  vary  much  whether  the  upper  stories  were  symmetrically  or  irreg- 
ularly formed.  If  symmetrical,  the  main  building  contained  two  hundred 
and  sixty  apartments,  and  each  wing  seventy,  making  the  computation  for 
the  latter  by  area  and  from  the  number  of  depression  still  discernible,  thus 
making  an  aggregate  of  four  hundred  rooms. 

The  house  was  a fortress,  proving  the  insecurity  in  which  the  people 
lived.  It  was  also  a joint  tenement  house  of  the  aboriginal  American  model, 
indicating  a plan  of  life  not  well  understood.  It  may  indicate  an  ancient 
communism  in  living,  practiced  by  large  households  formed  on  the  principle 
of  kin.  In  such  a case  the  communism  was  limited  to  the  household  as  a 
part  of  a kinship. 

Those  familiar  with  the  remains  of  Indian  Pueblos  in  ruins  will  recog- 
nize at  once  the  resemblance  between  this  pueblo  and  the  stone  pueblos  in 
ruins  on  the  Rio  Chaco,  in  New  Mexico,  about  sixty  miles  distant  from  these 
ruins,  particularly  the  one  called  Hungo  Pavie,  so  full)7  described  by  General 
J.  H.  Simpson.  There  is  one  particular  in  which  the  masonry  agrees,  viz., 
in  the  use  of  courses  of  thin  stones,  about  half  an  incb  in  thickness,  some- 
times three  together,  and  sometimes  five  and  six.  These  courses  are  carried 
along  the  wall  from  one  side  to  the  other,  but  often  broken  in  upon.  The 
effect  is  quite  pretty.  These  stones  measure  six  inches  in  length  by  one- 
half  an  inch  in  thickness.  General  Simpson  found  the  same  courses  of  thin 
stones,  and  even  thinner,  in  the  Chaco  ruins,  and  comments  upon  the  pleas- 
ing effect  they  produced. 

This  edifice  was  a credit  to  the  skill  and  industry  of  the  men  among 
the  Village  Indians;  for  the  men,  and  not  the  women,  were  the  architects 
and  the  masons,  although  the  women  undoubtedly  assisted  in  doing  the 
work.  Women  brought  stone  and  adobe  and  cedar,  and  made  adobe  mor- 
tar,  without  a doubt,  as  they  still  do.  One  of  the  hopeful  features  in  their 
advancement  was  the  beginning  of  the  reversal  of  the  old  usage  which  put 
all  labor  upon  the  women.  It  is  now  the  rule  among  the  Village  Indians 
for  the  men  to  assume  the  heavy  work,  which  was  doubtless  the  case  when 
this  pueblo  was  constructed.  They  cultivated  maize,  beans,  and  squashes, 
in  garden  beds,  and  irrigated  them  with  water  drawn  from  the  river  by 


MORGAN.] 


SECOND  PUEBLO  ALSO  OF  STONE. 


185 


means  of  a canal,  and  passed  in  several  smaller  streams  through  their  gar- 
dens. The  men  now  engage  in  the  work  of  cultivation.  This  is  a sure 
sign  of  progress. 

Off  the  south  wing  of  the  building,  and  without  it,  are  the  remains  of 
an  additional  building,  large  enough  for  twenty  or  thirty  rooms  on  the 
ground,  some  part  of  which  were,  doubtless,  carried  up  two  or  more  stories 
high  ; but  it  is  a mass  of  indistinct  ruins,  about  which  little  can  be  said 
except  that  some  of  the  rooms  were  unusually  large.  This  may  have  been 
the  first  building  constructed,  and  the  one  occupied  while  the  stone  pueblo 
was  being  built. 

This  outline  plan  is  submitted  with  some  hesitation,  because  the  sketch 
from  which  it  is  taken  was  made  in  haste,  and  with  no  expectation  of  using  it. 
It  is  but  an  approximation.  Near  the  pueblo  last  described,  and  about  five 
hundred  feet  northeast- 
erly therefrom,  is  another 
pueblo  in  two  sections, 

Fig.  43,  with  a space 
about  fifteen  feet  wide 
between  them.  They 
ma}’  have  been,  and  pro- 
bably were,  connected 
and  inhabited  as  one 
structure.  Some  of  the 


200' 


o 

hJ 

140  ' 


60 


a A 


walls  are  still  standing, 


Fig.  43. — Outline  of  a St.oue  Pueblo  on  Animas  River. 


and  a number  of  the  rooms  in  the  ground  story  are  well  preserved,  the 
ceilings  still  remaining  in  place.  Although  the  structure  is  chiefly  of 
stone  like  the  last,  some  of  the  walls  are  of  cobblestone  and  adobe 
mortar.  The  largest  section  seems  to  have  had  an  open  court  in  the 
center  in  the  form  of  a parallelogram.  This  feature  increased  the 
difficulty  of  understanding  the  original  form  of  the  house  and  the 
arrangement  of  the  rooms.  The  walls  of  the  first,  of  parts  of  the  second, 
and  occasionally  of  parts  of  the  third  story,  are  still  standing  in  places. 
Many  of  the  rooms  are  small,  as  the  measurements  of  the  following 
rooms  in  the  second  story  of  the  smallest  building  of  the  two  will  show: 


186  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


3 feet  4 inches  by  6 feet  6 inches,  4 feet  by  8 feet  4 inches,  4 feet  7 
inches  by  14  feet  2 inches,  6 feet  5 inches  by  14  feet  9 inches,  7 feet  3 
inches  by  16  feet  9 inches,  6 feet  4 inches  by  1 1 feet  7 inches,  7 feet  3 
inches  by  7 feet  5 inches,  8 feet  7 inches  by  15  feet.  Height  of  rooms,  8 
feet.  The  rooms  were  faced  with  stone  laid  up  in  the  main  in  courses. 
They  were  small,  from  four  to  eight  inches  square,  and  the  walls  from  two 
to  three  feet  in  thickness.  Adobe  mortar  was  used  abundantly  in  the  inner 
part  of  the  wall,  but  not  showing  on  the  face  at  the  joints,  the  stones  being 
laid  together  as  closely  as  the  natural  surfaces  of  the  stone  woidd  permit, 
and  without  mortar  near  the  edge.  This  feature  was  also  characteristic  of 
the  walls  of  the  pueblo  first  described. 

Mr.  Bandelier  made  to  me  recently  the  important  suggestion  that  as 
far  as  any  progress  or  improvement  in  this  architecture,  in  style  or  character, 
can  be  discerned,  it  seems  to  have  been  from  smaller  to  larger  rooms,  fol- 
lowed by  a reduction  of  the  size  of  the  house  in  ground  dimensions.  The 
last  is  more  particularly  illustrated  by  the  houses  in  Yucatan,  where  single 
rooms  are  found,  in  rare  cases,  sixty  feet  long,  but  where  the  size  of  the 
house  in  ground  dimensions  is  much  smaller  than  of  those  in  New  Mexico. 
It  was  in  consequence  of  an  examination  of  some  very  old  pueblo  ruins  in 
New  Mexico,  east  of  the  Rio  Grande,  near  Santo  Domingo.  There  the 
pueblo  was  more  like  a cluster  of  cells  than  of  rooms,  as  many  of  them 
were  but  four  or  five  feet  square,  contrasting  strongly  with  the  present 
inhabited  pueblos.  The  same  fact  may  be  seen  at  Taos  It  was  mentioned 
(p.  144)  that  the  Taos  Indians  many  years  ago  conquered  and  dispossessed 
the  former  occupants  of  a pueblo  at  this  place,  and  that  some  remains  of 
the  old  pueblo  were  still  standing.  In  1878  I visited  one  of  the  ground- 
rooms  in  the  old  structure  still  standing,  and  entirely  alone.  It  was  about 
five  feet  by  six  in  ground-dimensions,  and  was  then  occupied  by  a solitary 
Taos  Indian,  a sort  of  hermit,  as  his  place  of  residence.  A bunk  across 
one  side  furnished  him  both  a bed  and  a seat,  and  the  remaining  room  was 
scarcely  sufficient  to  turn  around  in,  but  it  gave  him  all  the  home  he  had, 
and,  doubtless,  all  the  room  he  needed  Another  room,  a few  feet  distant, 
also  a part  of  the  old  pueblo,  was  still  standing.  These  rooms  were  of 
adobe,  and  were  about  six  feet  high.  As  the  Indian  gained  in  experience 


MORGAN.] 


OTHER  RUINS. 


187 


and  knowledge  in  the  use  and  construction  of  the  joint-tenement  houses, 
improvements  w'ould  gradually  manifest  themselves.  It  is  important  to 
find  and  trace  this  progress,  as  we  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  it  is 
one  system  of  architecture  throughout  North  America  at  least,  with  a con- 
nection of  all  its  forms. 

Along  the  curving  or  westerly  side  of  the  first  building,  and  along  the 
northerly  side,  there  are  cedar  beams  projecting  about  four  feet  from  the 
wall  in  the  second  story  on  the  line  of  the  ceiling.  They  are  about  four 
inches  in  diameter.  Their  object  is  not  apparent. 

In  one  of  the  basement  rooms  of  the  second  building  are  a series  of 
pictographs  upon  a plastered  wall.  Our  limited  time  would  not  permit  a 
sketch. 

Midway  between  the  pueblo,  Fig.  40,  and  the  one  now  being  consid- 
ered is  a circular  ruin  three  hundred  and  thirty  feet  in  circuit,  which  seems 
to  have  consisted  of  two  concentric  rows  of  apartments  around  an  inclosed 
estufa.  It  was  built  of  cobblestone  and  adobe  mortar.  Pit-holes  indicate 
the  form  and  plan  of  the  inclosing  rooms,  but  the  ruin  is  too  indistinct  to 
form  a clear  idea  of  its  structure.  A removal  of  the  loose  material  would 
probably  disclose  the  original  ground  plan. 

A few  hundred  feet  north  are  the  ruins  of  four  other  structures  of  cob- 
blestone and  adobe  quite  near  each  other.  They  were,  without  doubt, 
pueblo  houses,  but  they  are  now  a mass  of  undistinguishable  ruins,  and, 
from  present  appearance,  were  probably  ruins,  when  the  stone  pueblos  were 
inhabited.  The  river  here  runs  nearer  the  western  border  of  the  valley 
than  the  eastern,  and  quite  near  the  pueblo  last  noticed,  but  from  this  point 
it  bears  toward  the  east  side  of  the  valley. 

About  a mile  in  a direction  a little  south  of  east  and  near  the  river  are 
the  ruins  of  two  other  large  pueblos,  of  which  the  lower  one  is  one  thou- 
sand and  forty  feet  in  circuit,  and  the  one  above  four  hundred  and  fifty-two 
feet.  Both  are  built  of  sandstone  and  cobblestone  and  adobe  mortar.  No 
part  of  the  walls  are  standing  above  the  rubbish;  but  they  were  apparently 
contemporary  with  the  stone  pueblos.  The  first  stands  upon  the  brink  of 
the  river,  which  is  now  cutting  away  its  foundations,  thus  proving  that  it 
was  insecurely  located.  The  mass  of  fallen  material  is  very  great,  showing 


188  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


an  apparent  depth  of  at  least  fifteen  feet.  Some  of  the  basement  rooms  in 
each  of  these  pueblos  are  probably  still  entire,  judging  from  the  great  mass 
of  material  over  them.  Great  pit-holes  indicate  the  position  of  chambers 
and  inclosing-walls.  The  largest  of  the  two  pueblos  is  300  feet  in  depth 
In  one  place,  where  some  excavation  has  been  done,  the  corner  of  a base- 
ment room  is  in  sight.  All  these  ruins  ought  to  be  re-examined,  and  so  far 
excavated  as  to  recover  complete  ground  plans. 

Near  the  mouth  of  the  river  are  said  to  be  still  other  ruins,  and  still 
others  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  which  we  had  no  time  to  examine. 

The  valley  of  the  Animas  River  is  here  broad  and  beautiful,  about 
three  miles  wide.  The  river  passes  nearly  through  the  center  of  the  valle}7'. 
The  cliff,  on  the  east  side  of  the  level  plain,  is  bold  and  mountainous,  rising 
from  fifteen  hundred  to  two  thousand  feet  high,  while  on  the  west  side  the 
valley  is  bordered  with  the  mesa*  formation  in  two  benches,  one  rising  back 
of  the  other,  and  both  as  level  as  a floor,  with  the  highlands  forming  the 
divide  between  the  Animas  and  La  Plata  Rivers  in  the  distance. 

From  the  number  and  size  of  the  houses,  there  was  probably  a popula- 
tion of  at  least  five  thousand  persons  at  this  settlement,  living  by  horticult- 
ure. It  is  not  now  known  by  what  tribe  of  Indians  these  pueblos  were 
inhabited  or  constructed. 

These  pueblos,  newly  constructed  and  in  their  best  condition,  must 
have  presented  a commanding  appearance.  From  the  materials  used  in 
their  construction,  from  their  palatial  size  and  unique  design,  and  from  the 
cultivated  gardens  by  which  they  were  doubtless  surrounded,  they  were 
calculated  to  impress  the  beholder  very  favorably  with  the  degree  of  culture 
to  which  the  people  had  attained.  It  is  a singular  fact  that,  none  of  the 
occupied  pueblos  in  New  Mexico  at  the  present  time  are  equal  in  materials 
or  in  construction  with  those  found  in  ruins.  It  tends  to  show  a decadence 
of  art  among  them  since  the  period  of  European  discovery. 

Westward  of  the  Animas,  the  La  Plata,  and  the  Mancos  Rivers,  which 
run  southwesterly  into  the  San  Juan,  is  the  Montezuma  Valley,  a broad 
and  level  plain,  so  named  by  General  Heffernan,  of  Animas  City.  It  is 
about  fifty  miles  in  length,  and  apparently  ten  miles  wide  at  the  ranch  of 
Mr.  Henry  L.  Mitchell,  which  is  situated  at,  the  commencement  of  the 


MORGAN.] 


RUINS  OF  ADOBE  HOUSES. 


189 


McElmo  Canon.  It  stretches  southward  thirty-six  miles  to  the  San  Juan. 
In  this  valley,  which  lias  no  flowing  stream  through  it  at  present  (and  there 
is  no  certainty  that  it  ever  had),  and  which  is  without  water,  except  in  springs 
and  pools,  and  has  but  a slight  rainfall  during  the  year,  Mr  Mitchell  was 
successfully  cultivating,  at  the  time  of  our  visit,  wheat,  oats,  maize,  and 
the  garden  vegetables.  The  valley  is  uninhabited,  except  by  the  family  of 
Mr.  Mitchell,  and  a solitary  man  living-  four  miles  westward.  Their  nearest 
neighbors  are  on  the  Man- 
cos  River,  twenty-five 
miles  distant.  The  bluffs 
bordering  the  eastern  side 
of  the  valley  rise  boldly 
about  fifteen  hundred  feet, 
with  table  lands  above, 
while  on  the  west  the 
valley  is  bordered  with 
mountains.  About  t e n 
miles  southwest  of  Mr.  Mitchell’s  ranch  the  Ute  Mountain  rises  out  of  the 
plain,  and  from  this  point  appears  as  a solitary  and  detached  mountain. 
The  McElmo  Canon  passes  along  its  north  and  westerly  sides,  while  the 
main  valley  passes  southward  along  its  eastern  base.  This  high  and  noble 
mountain  is  situated  in  the  southwest  corner  of  Colorado,  near  the  inter- 
section of  the  boundary  lines  of  Colorado,  Utah,  Arizona,  and  New  Mexico. 
It  is  a conspicuous  object  from  the  La  Plata  Valley.  The  Montezuma 
Valley  possesses  features  of  remarkable  natural  beauty. 

Near  Mr.  Mitchell’s  ranch,  and  within  a space  of  less  than  a mile 
square,  are  the  ruins  of  nine  pueblo  houses  of  moderate  size.  They  are 
built  of  sandstone  intermixed  with  cobblestone  and  adobe  mortar.  They 
are  now  in  a very  ruinous  condition,  without  standing  walls  in  any  part  of 
them  above  the  rubbish.  The  largest  of  the  number  is  marked  No.  1 in 
the  plan  Fig.  44,  of  which  the  outline  of  the  original  structure  is  still  dis- 
cernible It  is  ninety-four  feet  in  length  and  forty-seven  feet  in  depth,  and 
shows  the  remains  of  a stone  wall  in  front  inclosing  a small  court  about 
fifteen  feet  wide.  The  mass  of  material  over  some  parts  of  this  structure 


Fig.  44. — Pueblos  at  commencement  of  McElmo  Canon. 


190  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE  LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


is  ten  or  twelve  feet  deep.  There  are,  no  doubt,  rooms  with  a portion  of 
the  walls  still  standing  covered  with  rubbish,  the  removal  of  which  would 
reveal  a considerable  portion  of  the  original  ground-plan. 

A short  distance  below  the  pueblos  last  named  is  another  cluster  of  the 
same  number  of  pueblos,  and  much  in  the  same  condition  ; and  upon  rising 
ground  near  the  foot  of  the  bluff,  on  the  east  side  of  the  valley,  there  are, 
as  Mr.  Mitchell  informed  me,  the  ruins  of  several  pueblos  of  stone.  He 
also  informed  me  that  similar  ruins  were  to  be  found  here  and  there  in  the 
valley  to  the  San  Juan.  Four  miles  westerly,  near  the  ranch  of  Mr.  Shirt, 
are  the  ruins  of  another  large  stone  pueblo,  together  with  an  Indian  ceme- 
tery, where  each  grave  is  marked  by  a border  of  flat  stones  set  level  with  the 
ground  in  the  form  of  a parallelogram  eight  feet  by  four  feet.  Near  the 
cluster  of  nine  pueblos  shown  in  the  figure  are  found  strewn  on  the  ground 
numerous  fragments  of  pottery  of  high  grade  in  the  ornamentation,  and 
small  arrow-heads  of  flint,  quartz,  and  chalcedony  delicately  formed,  and 
small  knife-blades  with  convex  and  serrated  edges  in  considerable  numbers. 

This  is  an  immense  ruin  with  small  portions  of  the  walls  still  standing, 

particularly  of  the  round 
tower  of  stone  of  three 
concentric  walls,  incor- 
porated in  the  structure, 
and  a few  chambers  in 
the  north  end  of  the  main 
building.  The  round 
tower  is  still  standing 
nearly  to  the  height  of 
the  first  story.  In  its 
present  condition  it  was 
impossible  to  make  a ground-plan  showing  the  several  chambers,  or  to 
determine  with  certainty  which  side  was  the  front  of  the  structure,  assum- 
ing that  it  was  constructed  in  the  terraced  form.  It  is  situated  upon  a ver- 
tical bluff  of  yellowish  sandstone  rock  about  twenty  feet  high,  and  about 
four  miles  below  Mr.  Mitchell’s  ranch  in  the  direction  of  the  Ute  Mountain 
and  near  its  northeastern  base.  The  bluff  is  broken  through  to  the  bottom 


MORGAN.] 


RUINS  OF  STONE  PUEBLO  NEAR  UTE  MOUNTAIN. 


191 


in  one  place  about  twenty  feet  wide.  Here  there  are  some  evidences  that 
a spring  of  water  was  inclosed  in  a reservoir  by  means  of  masonry.  The 
building  is  in  two  sections,  separated  by  this  break,  of  which  the  main 
one  is  five  hundred  and  ten  feet  long,  and  the  smallest  one  hundred  and 
twenty  feet,  forming  a nearly  continuous  front.  They  stand  back  ten  or 
fifteen  feet  from  the  verge  of  the  bluff,  and  are  built  of  tabular  pieces  of 
sandstone  and  adobe  mortar.  Numerous  pit-holes  in  each  structure  indi- 
cate the  chambers  and  the  line  of  the  inclosing  walls.  The  removal  of  the 
loose  material  would  doubtless  disclose  the  ground-plan,  but  it  would 
involve  immense  labor.  With  the  Ute  Mountain  rising  majestically  in 
the  background,  and  the  broad  valley  in  front,  the  situation  of  the  pueblo 
is  remarkably  fine. 

The  Round  Tower  is  the  most  singular  feature  in  this  structure.  While 
it  resembles  the  ordinary  estufa , common  to  all  these  structures,  it  differs 
from  them  in  having  three  concentric  walls.  No  doorways  are  visible  in 
the  portion  still  standing,  consequently  it  must  have  been  entered  through 
the  roof,  in  which  respect  it  agrees  with  the  ordinary  estufa  The  inner 
chamber  is  about  twenty  feet  in  diameter,  and  the  spaces  between  the  en- 
circling walls  are  about  two  feet  each;  the  walls  are  about  two  feet  in  thick- 
ness, and  were  laid  up  mainly  with  stones  about  four  inches  square,  and,  for 
the  most  part,  in  courses.  There  is  a similar  round  tower,  having  but  two 
concentric  walls,  at  the  head  of  the  McElmo  Canon,  and  near  the  ranch  of 
Mr.  Mitchell.  It  is  shown  in  Fig.  44,  and  stands  entirely  isolated.  The 
diameter  of  the  tower  is  thirty-four  feet,  of  which  the  inner  chamber  is 
twenty-three  feet;  the  space  between  the  two  walls  is  about  six  feet,  and 
the  thickness  of  the  walls  about  two  feet  six  inches.  It  is  laid  up  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  one  last  named,  witli  stones  about  the  same  size,  and 
the  walls  still  standing  are  about  five  feet  in  height.  Partition  walls  divide 
the  outer  space,  one  of  which  measured  twenty  inches  in  thickness. 

Several  hundred  feet  from  the  pueblo  last  named,  further  down  the 
valley,  is  another  pueblo  of  large  extent,  and  in  a very  ruined  condition. 

A mile  or  more  below  the  ranch  of  Mr.  Mitchell,  in  the  bordering 
walls  of  the  McElmo  Canon,  are  two  cliff  houses.  The  walls  of  the  bluff 
are  here  about  twenty  feet  high,  with  large  cavities  formed  in  them  here 


192  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE  LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


and  there.  These  houses,  each  of  which  consists  of  but  two  or  three  small 
chambers,  are  built  of  stone,  and  stand  but  a few  feet  above  the  bottom  of 
the  canon.  They  are  narrow,  and  not  very  high,  as  the  cavity  in  the  rock 
is  not  very  deep.  Corrals  for  some  kind  of  domestic  animals  are  found  by 
the  side  of  these  houses  in  the  same  hollows  in  the  rock.  This  is  proved 
by  a mass  of  excrement,  about  a foot  in  depth,  still  there,  whether  of  the 
goat  or  sheep  cannot  be  stated,  but  this  fact  shows  that  they  were  inhab- 
ited subsequent  to  the  period  of  European  discovery,  although  they  may 
have  been  built  and  used  before.  The  canon,  at  this  point,  is  from  three 
hundred  to  live  hundred  feet  wide. 

I wish  to  call  attention  again  to  the  San  Juan  district,  to  its  numerous 
ruins,  and  to  its  importance  as  an  early  seat  of  Village  Indian  life.  These 
ruins  and  those  of  a similar  character  in  the  valley  of  the  Chaco,  together 
with  numerous  remains  of  structures  of  sandstone,  of  cobblestone,  and 
adobe  in  the  San  Juan  Valley,  in  the  Pine  River  Valley,  in  the  La  Plata 
Valley,  in  the  Animas  River  Valley,  in  the  Montezuma  Valley,  on  the 
Ilovenweep,  and  on  the  Rio  Dolores,  suggest  the  probability  that  the  remark- 
able area  within  the  drainage  of  the  San  Juan  River  and  its  tributaries  has 
held  a prominent  place  in  the  first  and  most  ancient  development  of  Village 
Indian  life  in  America.  The  evidence  of  Indian  occupation  and  cultivation 
throughout  the  greater  part  of  this  area  is  sufficient  to  suggest  the  hypoth- 
esis that  the  Indian  here  first  attained  to  the  condition  of  the  Middle  Status 
of  barbarism,  and  sent  forth  the  migrating  bands  who  carried  this  advanced 
culture  to  the  Mississippi  Valley,  to  Mexico,  and  Central  America,  and  not 
unlikely  to  South  America  as  well. 

Indian  migrations  are  gradual  outflows  from  an  overstocked  area,  fol- 
lowed by  organization  into  independent  tribes,  and  continuing  through  cen- 
turies of  time,  until  the  ethnic  life  of  each  tribe  is  expended,  or  a successful 
establishment  is  finally  gained  in  a new  and  perhaps  far  distant  land.  They 
planted  gardens  and  constructed  houses  as  they  advanced  from  district  to 
district,  and  removed  as  circumstances  prompted  a change  of  location. 

Since  the  cultivation  of  maize  and  plants  precedes  or  is  synchronous 
with  this  stage  of  development,  it  leads  to  the  supposition  that  maize  must 
have  been  indigenous  in  this  region,  and  that  it  was  here  first  brought  under 


MORGAN.] 


MOUND-BUILDERS. 


193 


cultivation.  There  are  some  facts  that  seem  to  favor  this  hypothesis.* 1  At 
present  I wish  to  call  attention  to  such  existing  evidence  as  points  to  the 
San  Juan  district  as  the  anterior  home  of  a number  of  historic  Indian  tribes. 

1.  The  Mound-Builders. — Although  these  tribes  had  disappeared  at  the 
epoch  of  European  discovery,  and  cannot  be  classed  with  any  known  Indian 
stock,  their  condition  as  horticultural  tribes,  their  knowledge  of  some  of 
the  native  metals,  and  the  high  character  of  their  stone  implements  and 
pottery  place  them  in  the  class  of  Village  Indians.  The  nearest  region  from 
which  they  could  have  been  derived  is  New  Mexico.  There  is  no  reason 
for  referring  them  to  the  San  J uan  region  more  than  to  the  nearer  country 
of  the  Rio  Grande,  unless  it  should  appear  probable  that  the  inhabitants 
of  the  latter  valley  were  themselves  migrants  from  the  same  region  But 
there  are  good  reasons  for  deriving  the  Mound- Builders  from  the  Village 
Indians  in  some  part  of  New  Mexico. 


1 Where  maize  was  indigenous  is  unknown,  except  that  it  was  somewhere  upon  the  American 
continent.  It  is  the  only  cereal  America  has  given  to  the  world.  At  the  period  of  European  discovery, 
it  was  found  cultivated  and  a staple  article  of  food  in  a large  part  of  North  America  and  in  parts  of 
South  America.  There  were  also  found  beans,  squashes,  and  tobacco,  with  the  addition  in  some  areas 
of  peppers,  tomatoes,  cocoa,  and  cotton..  The  problem  of  the  place  of  the  origin  of  maize  is  probably 
insoluble,  but  speculations  are  legitimate,  and  such  are  all  that  I have  to  offer. 

The  fecundity  of  plant-life  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  is  remarkable,  particularly  on  the  southern 
slopes,  where  they  subside  into  the  mesa,  or  table-land  formation,  north  of  the  San  Juan  River.  The 
continental  divide  is  in  the  eastern  margin  of  this  region.  The  tirst  suggestion  I wish  to  make  is  that 
all  cereals  and  cultivated  plants  must  have  originated  in  the  great  continental  mountains  of  the  two 
hemispheres,  and  have  propagated  themselves  along  the  water  courses  of  the  mountain  valleys  down 
to  the  plains  traversed  by  the  great  rivers  formed  by  these  mountain  tributaries.  All  the  cereals  belong 
to  the  family  of  the  Grasses  (Gramiueuj),  and  each  of  them,  doubtless,  is  the  last  of  a series  of  antece- 
dent forms. 

I saw  rye,  barley,  and  oats  growing  wild  by  self-propagation  iu  the  mountain  valleys  of  Colo- 
rado the  present  season;  also  the  wild  pea,  whose  stunted  seeds  had  the  taste  of  the  cultivated  pea. 
Turnips,  onions,  tomatoes,  and  hops  are  found  growing  wild  in  the  Pine  River  Valley,  and  the  pie-plant 
or  rhubarb  is  said  to  grow  luxuriantly  in  the  Elk  Mountain  valleys.  I also  saw  wild  flax  and  the 
gourd  growing  by  self-propagation  in  the  valley  of  the  Animas.  Currants,  gooseberries,  raspberries, 
and  strawberries  are  found  in  the  mountain  valleys  in  numerous  places,  together  with  flowering  plants 
of  many  species  and  varieties.  Tiny  forms  of  flowering  plants  are  to  be  seen  above  patches  of  snow  in 
places  where  the  snow  had  recently  melted.  This  fecundity  of  plant-life  from  ten  to  twelve  thousand 
feet  above  sea  level,  and  the  relation  of  these  mountain  tributaries  to  the  San  Juan,  which  runs  from 
east  to  west,  not  remotely  from  the  base  of  these  mountains,  in  such  a manner  as  to  invite  and  receive 
into  its  lap,  so  to  express  it,  the  vegetable  wealth  developed  in  these  mountain  chains,  are  facts  that 
force  themselves  upon  the  attention  of  the  observer. 

The  altitude  of  the  San  Juan  Valley  ranges  from  seven  thousand  feet  at  Pagosa  Springs  to  five 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  seventy  feet  at  the  mouth  of  the  Animas,  and  diminishing  to  four  thousand 
four  hundred  and  forty-six  feet  near  the  point  where  it  empties  into  the  Colorado  (Hayden’s  Atlas  of 
Colorado,  Sheet  111).  The  altitude  at  Conejos  is  seven  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighty  feet  (lb.,) 
which  is  about  as  great  an  elevation  as  admits  of  the  successful  cultivation  of  maize.  I noticed  in  a 
field  of  maize  growing  at  Conejos  that  the  stalk  grew  only  about  three  feet  high,  and  the  fact  that  the 

13 


194  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THF  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


2.  The  Mexican  Tribes. — The  seven  principal  tribes  of  Mexico,  called 
collectively  the  Nahuatlacs,  spoke  dialects  of  the  same  language,  and  all 
alike  had  a tradition  that  their  ancestors  came  from  the  north,  and  that  the 
separate  tribes  came  into  Mexico  at  long  intervals  apart  They  arrived  in 
the  following  order  as  to  time:  1,  Socliomilcos;  2,  Chalcas;  3,  Tepanecans; 
4,  Tescucans;  5,  Tlatluicans;  6,  Tlascalans;  7,  Aztecs  or  Mexicans.  They 
settled  in  different  parts  of  Mexico  The  Cholulans,  Tepeacas,  and  Huexatsin- 
cos  spoke  dialects  of  the  Nahuatlac  language,  and  were  severally  subdivisions 
of  one  or  the  other  preceding  tribes.  They  had  the  same  tradition  of  a 
northern  origin.  These  several  tribes  were  among  the  most  prominent  in 
Mexico  at  the  period  of  Spanish  discovery.  Some  of  the  tribes  of  Yucatan 
and  Central  America  also  had  similar  traditions  of  an  original  migration  of 
their  ancestors  from  the  north. 

Acosta,  who  visited  Mexico  in  1585,  and  whose  work  was  published  at 
Seville  in  1589,  states  the  order  of  the  migration  of  the  Mexican  tribes  as 
above  given,  and  further  says  that  they  “come  from  other  far  countries 
which  lie  toward  the  north,  where  now  they  have  discovered  a kingdom 
they  call  New  Mexico.  There  are  two  provinces  in  this  country,  the  one 
called  Aztlan , which  is  to  say,  a place  of  Herons  [Cranes],  and  the  other 
Teculhuacan,  which  signifies  a land  of  such  whose  grandfathers  were  divine. 
The  Navatalcas  [Nahuatlacs]  point  their  beginning  and  first  territory  in  the 
figure  of  a cave,  and  say  they  came  forth  of  seven  caves  to  come  and 
people  the  land  of  Mexico.”1  The  same  tradition,  substantially,  is  given  by 

ear  grew  out  of  it  but  six  inches  from  the  ground.  Specimens  of  the  ear  we  obtained  showed  that 
it  was  about  five  inches  long,  witli  the  kernel  small  and  flinty.  The  ear  is  in  four  colors,  white,  red, 
yellow,  and  black,  each  being  one  or  the  other  of  these  colors.  In  a few  cases  two  colors  were  inter- 
mixed in  the  same  ear.  It  seemed  probable  that  this  was  the  primitive  maize  of  the  American  aborigines, 
from  which  all  other  varieties  have  been  developed.  A few  cobs  which  we  found  at  a cliff  house  on  the 
Mancos  River  corresponded  with  the  Conejos  ear  in  size,  and  were  probably  the  same  variety.  After- 
wards at  Taos  I found  the  same  ear  in  white,  red,  yellow,  and  black;  the  staple  maize  now  cultivated 
at  this  pueblo,  but  much  larger.  1 brought  away  several  tine  ears  saved  for  seed.  Oue  black  ear 
measured  twelve  inches  in  length,  with  twelve  rows  of  kernels,  while  the  white  variety,  both  at  Conejos 
and  Taos,  had  each  fourteen  rows. 

Finally,  a dry  country,  neither  excessively  hot  nor  moist,  like  the  San  Juan  region,  would  seem  to 
be  most  favorable  for  the  development  and  self-propagation  of  maize  as  well  as  plants  until  man  ap- 
peared for  their  domestication.  These  are  but  speculations,  but  if  they  should  prompt  further  investi- 
gations concerning  the  place  of  nativity  of  this  wonderful  cereal,  which  has  been  such  an  important 
factor  in  the  advancement  of  the  Indian  family,  and  which  is  also  destined  to  prove  such  a support  to 
our  own,  these  suggestions  will  not  have  been  made  in  vain. 

‘The  Natural  and  Moral  History  of  the  East  and  West  Indies,  London  ed.,  Ifi04,  Grimstone’s 
Trans.,  pp.  4'.)?,  504. 


MORGAN.] 


SANDHILL  CRANES. 


195 


Herrera,1  and  also  by  Clavigero.2  If  by  the  word  Aztlan  was  intended 
“place  of  Cranes”,  and  on  the  supposition  that  these  tribes  migrated  from 
the  San  Juan  region,  the  reasons  for  the  designation  are  justified.  The 
Sandhill  Crane  ( Grus  Canadensis ) is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  conspicuous 
of  American  birds,  and  is  still  found  from  the  British  Possessions  to  New 
Mexico,  and  winters  in  the  latter.  I saw  a pair  of  these  great  birds  in  1878, 
in  the  valley  of  the  Animas  River.  Dr.  Coues  remarks  that  “thousands 
of  Sandhill  Cranes  repair  each  year  to  the  Colorado  River  Valley,  flock 
succeeding  flock  along  the  course  of  the  great  stream  from  their  arrival  in 
September  until  their  departure  the  following  spring.  Taller  than  the 
Wood  Ibises  or  the  largest  Herons  with  which  they  are  associated,  the 
stately  birds  stand  in  the  foreground  of  the  scenery  of  the  valley.  * * * 
Such  ponderous  bodies  moving  with  slowly-beating  wings  give  a great  idea 
of  momentum  from  mere  weight,  a force  of  motion  without  swiftness;  for 
they  plod  along  heavily,  seeming  to  need  every  inch  of  their  ample  wings  to 
sustain  themselves.”3  It  is  an  Indian  trait  to  mark  localities  by  some  con- 
spicuous feature  or  fact,  and  the  selection  of  the  Sandhill  Crane  to  indicate 
their  home  country  would  have  accorded  with  Indian  usages. 

Again,  Herrera,  who  presents  the  current  traditions,  observes,  that 
“these  peoples  painted  their  original  in  the  manner  of  a cave,  and  said  they 
came  out  of  seven  caves  to  people  the  country  of  Mexico.  * * * After 

the  six  above  mentioned  races  departed  from  their  country,  and  settled  in 
New  Spain,  where  they  were  much  increased,  the  seventh  race  being  the 
Mexican  nation,  a warlike  and  polite  people,  who  adoring  their  god  Vitsil- 
puztli,  he  commanded  them  to  leave  their  own  country,  promising  them 
they  should  rule  over  other  races  in  a plentiful  country,  and  much  wealth.”4 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  cave  dwellings  or  cliff  houses  are  in 
the  San  Juan  district,  the  most  of  them  being  on  the  Mancos  River,  and  on 
the  western  portion  of  the  San  Juan.  These  traditions  may  in  fact  refer  to 
these  cave  dwellings  as  the  original  homes  of  their  ancestors,  and  at  the 
same  time  without  precluding  the  supposition  that  they  also  constructed 

‘General  History  of  America,  London  eel.,  1725,  Stevens’s  Trans.,  Ill,  188. 

2 History  of  Mexico,  Cullen’s  Trans.,  1,  119. 

3 Birds  of  the  Northwest,  1H74,  p.  534. 

4 History  of  America,  iii,  p.  188,  190. 


196  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE  LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


and  inhabited  some  of  the  pueblo  structures  now  in  ruins  in  other  parts  ol 
the  same  area.  All  the  early  accounts  concur  in  representing  the  Aztecs  or 
Mexicans,  when  they  first  arrived  in  Mexico,  as  subsisting  by  the  cultiva- 
tion of  maize  and  plants,  as  constructing  houses  of  stone,  and  with  a religious 
system  which  recognized  personal  gods.  These  statements  are  probably 
true.  They  had  attained  to  the  status  of  Village  Indians.  This  again  ren- 
ders New  Mexico  their  probable  original  home  as  the  only  area  in  the  north 
where  ruins  of  structures  of  tribes  so  far  advanced  have  been  found. 

The  San  Juan  district  is  remarkably  situated  in  its  geographical  rela- 
tions. This  river,  rising  in  the  crests  of  the  high  mountains  forming  the 
water-shed  or  divide  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  flows  southward  until 
it  enters  the  table-land  formation,  through  which  it  flows  in  a southwesterly 
and  then  northwesterly  direction,  making  a long,  sweeping  curve  in  New 
Mexico  and  Arizona,  after  which  it  runs  westerly  to  its  confluence  with  the 
Colorado.  It  receives  from  the  north  the  following  tributaries,  rising  like 
itself  in  the  high  mountains,  the  Piedra,  Pine  River  (Los  Pinos),  the  Animas, 
the  La  Plata,  the  Mancos,  the  McElmo,  now  dry,  and  the  Hovenweep  and 
Montezuma  creeks,  now  nearly  dry.  Its  southern  tributaries  are  the  Navajo, 
Chaco,  and  I)e  Clielly. 

With  such  evidences  of  ancient  occupation,  here  and  elsewhere  in  the 
San  Juan  country,  we  are  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Village  Indians 
increased  and  multiplied  in  this  area,  and  that  at  some  early  period  there 
was  here  a remarkable  display  of  this  form  of  Indian  life,  and  of  house 
architecture  in  the  nature  of  fortresses,  which  must  have  made  itself  felt  in 
distant  parts  of  the  continent.  On  the  hypothesis  that  the  valley  of  the 
Columbia  was  the  seed-land  of  the  Ganowanian  family,  where  they  depended 
chiefly  upon  a fish  subsistence,  we  have  in  the  San  Juan  country  a second 
center  and  initial  point  of  migrations  founded  upon  farinaceous  subsistence. 
That  the  struggle  of  the  Village  Indians  to  resist  the  ever  continuous 
streams  of  migration  flowing  southward  along  the  mountain  chains  has  been 
a hard  one  through  many  centuries  of  time,  is  proved  by  the  many  ruins  of 
abandoned  or  conquered  pueblos  which  still  mark  their  settlements  in  so 
many  places.  At  the  present  moment  there  is  not  a Village  Indian  in  the 
San  Juan  district  It  is  entirely  deserted  of  this  class  of  inhabitants. 


MORGAN.] 


INDIAN  MIGRATIONS. 


197 


That  the  original  ancestors  of  the  principal  historic  tribes  of  Mexico 
once  inhabited  the  San  Juan  country  is  extremely  probable.  That  the 

«y  L 

ancestors  of  the  principal  tribes  of  Yucatan  and  Central  America  owe  their 
remote  origin  to  the  same  region  is  equally  probable.  And  that  the  Mound 
Builders  came  originally  from  the  same  country,  is,  with  our  present  knowl- 
edge, at  least  a reasonable  conclusion. 

Indian  migrations  have  occurred  under  the  influence,  almost  exclusively, 
of  physical  causes,  operating  in  a uniform  manner.  These  migrations, 
involving  the  entire  period  of  the  existence  here  of  the  inhabitants  of  both 
American  continents,  will  be  found  to  have  a common  and  connected  his- 
tory A study  of  all  the  facts  may  yet  lead  to  an  elucidation  and  explana- 
tion of  these  migrations  with  some  degree  of  certainty.  The  hypothesis 
that  the  valley  of  the  Columbia  River  was  the  seed-land  of  the  Ganowanian 
family  holds  the  best  chance  of  solving  the  great  problem  of  the  origin  and 
distribution  of  the  Indian  tribes. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


HOUSES  OF  THE  MOUND-BUILDEBS. 

The  general  view  of  the  house-life  and  houses  of  the  Indian  tribes 
thus  far  presented  will  tend  to  strengthen  the  hypothesis  about  to  be  stated 
concerning  the  earth-works  of  the  Mound-Builders.  Apart  from  the  expla- 
nation that  the  long-houses  of  the  Northern  Tribes  and  the  joint-tenement 
house  of  the  Sedentary  Indians  are  capable  of  affording,  they  are  wholly 
inexplicable.  The  Mound-Builders  worked  native  copper,  cultivated  maize 
and  plants,  manufactured  pottery  and  stone  implements  of  higher  grade 
than  the  tribes  of  the  Lower  Status  of  barbarism  ; and  they  raised  earth- 
works of  great  magnitude,  superior  to  any  works  of  the  former  tribes. 
They  fairly  belong  to  the  class  of  Sedentary  Village  Indians,  though  not 
in  all  respects  of  an  equal  grade  of  culture  and  development.  Their 
embankments,  which  inclosed  a rectangular  space,  were  in  all  probability, 
the  foundations  upon  which  they  erected  their  houses.  It  is  proposed  to 
consider  these  embankments  under  this  hypothesis. 

Under  the  name  of  Mound-Builders  certain  unknown  tribes  of  the 
American  aborigines  are  recognized,  who  formerly  inhabited  as  their  chief 
area  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  and  its  tributary  streams.  Traces  of  their 
occupation  have  been  found  in  other  places,  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to 
Lakes  Erie  and  Superior,  and  from  the  Alleglianies  to  the  Mississippi,  and 
in  some  localities  west  of  this  river. 

Without  entering  upon  a discussion  of  these  works,  this  chapter  will 
be  confined  to  four  principal  questions: 

I.  The  house-life  of  the  American  aborigines,  in  the  usages  of  which 
the  Mound- Builders  were  necessarily  involved. 

II.  The  probable  center  from  which  the  Mound-Builders  emigrated 
into  these  areas. 


198 


MORGAN.] 


MOUND  BUILDERS. 


199 


III.  The  uses  for  which  their  principal  earth-works  were  designed, 
with  a conjectural  restoration  of  one  of  their  pueblos ; and, 

IV.  The  probable  numbers  of  the  people. 

The  Mound-Builders  have  disappeared,  or,  at  least,  have  fallen  out  of 
human  knowledge,  leaving  these  works  and  their  fabrics  as  the  only  evi- 
dence of  their  existence.  Consequently  the  proposed  questions,  excepting 
the  first,  are  incapable  of  specific  answers ; but  they  are  not  beyond  the 
reach  of  approximate  solutions.  The  mystery  in  which  these  tribes  are 
enshrouded,  and  the  unique  character  of  their  earth-works,  will  lead  to 
deceptive  inferences,  unless  facts  and  principles  are  carefully  considered 
and  rigorously  applied,  and  such  deductions  only  are  made  as  they  will 
fairly  warrant.  It  is  easy  to  magnify  the  significance  of  these  remains  and 
to  form  extravagant  conclusions  concerning  them ; but  neither  will  advance 
the  truth.  They  represent  a status  of  human  advancement  forming  a con- 
necting link  in  the  progressive  development  of  man.  If,  then,  the  nature 
of  their  arts,  and  more  especially  the  character  of  their  institutions,  can  be 
determined  with  reasonable  certainty,  the  true  position  of  the  Mound- 
Builders  can  be  assigned  to  them  in  the  scale  of  human  progress,  and  what 
was  possible  and  what  impossible  on  their  part  can  be  known. 


THE  HOUSE -LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES,  IN  THE  USAGES  OF  WHICH  THE 
MOUND-BUILDERS  WERE  NECESSARILY  INVOLVED. 

It  will  be  assumed  that  the  tribes  who  constructed  the  earth-works  of 
the  Ohio  Valley  were  American  Indians.  No  other  supposition  is  tenable. 
The  implements  and  utensils  found  in  the  mounds  indicate  very  plainly 
that  they  had  attained  to  the  Middle  Status  of  barbarism.  They  do  not 
fully  answer  the  tests  of  this  condition,  since  they  neither  cultivated  by 
irrigation,  so  far  as  is  known,  nor  constructed  houses  of  adobe  bricks  or  of 
stone ; but,  in  addition  to  the  earth-works  to  be  considered,  they  mined 
native  copper  and  wrought  it  into  implements  and  utensils — acts  performed 
by  none  of  the  tribes  in  the  Lower  Status  of  barbarism;  and  they  depended 


200  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE  LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


chiefly  upon  horticulture  for  subsistence.  They  had  also  carried  the  art  of 
pottery  to  the  ornamental  stage,  and  manufactured  textile  fabrics  of  cotton 
or  flax,  remains  of  which  have  been  found  wrapped  around  copper  chisels. 
These  facts,  with  others  that  will  appear,  justify  their  recognition  as  in  the 
same  status  with  the  Village  Indians  of  New  and  Old  Mexico  and  Central 
America.  They  occupied  areas  free  from  lakes  as  a rule,  and,  therefore, 
the  poorest  for  a fish  subsistence.  This  shows  of  itself  that  their  chief 
reliance  was  upon  horticulture.  The  principal  places  where  their  villages 
were  situated  were  unoccupied  areas  at  the  epoch  of  European  discovery, 
because  unadapted  to  tribes  in  the  Lower  Status  of  barbarism,  who  de- 
pended upon  fish  and  game  as  well  as  upon  maize  and  plants. 

A knowledge  of  the  general  character  of  the  houses  of  the  American 
aborigines  will  enable  us  to  infer  what  must  have  been  the  general  character 
of  those  of  the  Mound-Builders.  This,  again,  was  influenced  by  the  con- 
dition of  the  family.  Among  the  Indian  tribes,  in  whatever  stage  of 
advancement,  the  family  was  found  in  the  pairing  form,  with  separation  at 
the  option  of  either  party.  It  was  founded  upon  marriage  between  single 
pairs,  but  it  fell  below  the  monogamian  family  of  civilized  society.  In 
their  condition  it  was  too  weak  an  organization  to  face  alone  the  struggle 
of  life,  and  it  sought  shelter  in  large  households,  formed  on  the  basis  of 
kin,  with  communism  in  living  as  an  incident  of  their  plan  of  life.  While 
exceptional  cases  of  single  families  living  by  themselves  existed  among  all 
the  tribes,  it  did  not  break  the  general  rule  of  large  households,  and  the 
practice  in  them  of  communism  in  living.  These  usages  entered  into  and 
determined  the  character  of  their  house  architecture.  In  all  parts  of  North 
and  South  America,  at  the  period  of  European  discovery,  were  found  com- 
munal or  joint-tenement  houses,  from  those  large  enough  to  accommodate 
live,  ten,  and  twenty  families,  to  those  large  enough  for  fifty,  a hundred, 
and  in  some  cases  two  hundred  or  more,  families.  These  houses  differed 
among  themselves  in  their  plan  and  structure  as  well  as  size ; but  a com- 
mon principle  ran  through  them  which  was  revealed  by  their  adaptation  to 
communistic  uses.  They  reflect  their  condition  and  their  plan  of  life  with 
such  singular  distinctness  as  to  afford  practical  hints  concerning  the  houses 
of  the  Mound-Builders. 


MORGAN. 1 


THEY  PROBABLY  CAME  FROM  NEW  MEXICO. 


201 


THE  PROBABLE  CENTER  FROM  WHICH  THE  MOUND-BUILDERS  EMIGRATED  INTO  THESE 

AREAS. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  highest  type  of  Village  Indian  life  was  found 
in  Yucatan,  Chiapas,  and  Guatemala,  and  that  the  standard  declines  with 
the  advance  of  the  type  northward  into  Mexico  and  New  Mexico,  thus 
tending  to  show  that  it  was  best  adapted  to  a warm  climate;  but  it  does  not 
follow  that  we  must  look  to  these  distant  regions  for  the  original  home  of 
the  Mound-Builders.  The  nearest  point  from  which  they  could  have  been 
derived  was  New  Mexico,  and  that  is  rendered  the  probable  point  from 
physical  considerations,  and  still  more  from  their  greater  nearness  in  con- 
dition to  the  Village  Indians  of  New  Mexico,  below  whom  they  must  be 
ranked.  The  migrations  of  the  American  Indian  tribes  were  gradual  move- 
ments under  the  operation  of  physical  causes,  occupying  long  periods  of 
time  and  with  slow  progress.  There  is  no  reason  for  supposing,  in  any 
.number  of  cases,  that  they  were  deliberate  migrations  with  a definite  desti- 
nation. With  maize,  beans,  and  squashes  (the  staples  of  an  established 
horticulture),  the  Village  Indians  were  independent  of  fish  and  game  as 
primary  means  of  subsistence,  and  with  the  former  they  possessed  superior 
resources  for  migrating  over  the  wide  expanses  of  open  prairies  between 
New  Mexico  and  the  Mississippi.  The  movement  of  the  tribes  who  con- 
structed the  earth-works  in  question  can  be  explained  as  a natural  spread  of 
Village  Indians  from  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  or  the  San  Juan,  to  the 
shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  thence  northward  to  the  valley  of  the 
( )hio,  which  was  both  easy  and  feasible.  Its  successful  extension  for  any 
considerable  distance  north  of  the  gulf  was  rendered  improbable,  by  reason 
of  the  increasing  severity  of  the  climate.  There  are  some  reasons  for  sup- 
posing that  climate  delayed  the  movement  for  centuries,  and  finally  defeated 
the  attempt  to  transplant  permanently  even  the  New  Mexican  type  of  village 
life  into  a northern  temperature  so  much  lower  during  the  greater  part  of 
the  year. 

A number  of  archaeologists,  who  have  considered  the  question  of  the 
probable  anterior  home  of  the  Mound- Builders,  are  inclined  to  derive  them 


202  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


from  Central  America.  The  ground  for  this  opinion  seems  to  be  the  fact 
that  horticulture  must  have  originated  in  a semi-tropical  region,  where  this 
type  of  village  life  was  first  developed,  and,  therefore,  that  all  the  forms  of 
this  life  were  derived  from  thence.  It  would  be  a mistake,  as  it  seems  to 
the  writer,  to  adopt  the  track  of  horticulture  as  that  of  Indian  migration. 
In  its  first  spread  horticulture  would  be  more  apt  to  return  upon  the  line  of 
the  latter  than  wait  to  be  carried,  by  actual  migrations,  with  the  people. 
Moreover  it  is  unnecessary  to  invoke  such  an  argument,  for  the  reason  that 
New  Mexico  had  been  for  ages  the  seat  of  horticultural  and  Village  Indians, 
and  was  necessarily  occupied  by  them  long  before  the  country  east  of  the 
Mississippi.  Every  presumption  is  in  favor  of  their  derivation  from  New 
Mexico  as  their  immediate  anterior  home,  where  they  were  accustomed  to 
snow  and  to  a moderate  degree  of  cold.1 


THE  USES  FOR  WHICH  THEIR  PRINCIPAL  EARTHWORKS  WERE  DESIGNED,  WITH  A 
CONJECTURAL  RESTORATION  OF  ONE  OF  THEIR  PUEBLOS. 

A brief  reference  to  the  character  and  extent  of  these  works  is  neces- 
sary as  a means  of  understanding  their  uses.  The  authors  of  the  volume 
“ The  Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley”  remark,  in  their 
preface,  that  “the  ancient  inclosures  and  groups  of  works  personally  exam- 
ined and  surveyed  are  upwards  of  one  hundred.  * * * About  two  hun- 

dred mounds  of  all  forms  and  sizes,  and  occupying  every  variety  of  posi- 
tion, have  also  been  excavated.”2  Out  of  ninety-five  earthworks,  exclusive 
of  mounds,  figured  and  described  in  this  valuable  memoir,  and  which  prob- 
ably mark  the  sites  of  Indian  villages,  forty-seven  are  of  the  same  type 
and  may  unhesitatingly  be  assigned  to  the  Mound-Builders;  fourteen  are 
groups  of  emblematical  earthworks,  mostly  in  Wisconsin,  and  may  also  be 
assigned  to  them;  but  the  remaining  thirty -four  are  very  inferior  as  well  as 
different  in  character.  They  are  not  above  the  works  of  the  Indians  in  the 

1 At  a recent  meeting  of  the  National  Academy  of  Science  at  Washington,  •where  this  subject 
was  presented,  Prof.  O.  C.  Marsh  remarked,  in  confirmation  of  this  suggestion,  that  “ in  a series  of  com- 
parisons of  Indian  skulls,  he  had  been  struck  with  the  similarity  between  those  of  the  Pueblo  Indians 
of  New  Mexico  and  of  the  Mound-Builders.  As  the  shape  of  the  Mound-Builder’s  skull  is  very  peculiar, 
the  coincidence  is  a very  striking  one.” 

2 Smithsonian  Cont.  to  Knowledge,  Preface,  XXXIV. 


MORGAN.) 


SIZE  OF  INDIAN  PUEBLOS. 


203 


Lower  Status  of  barbarism,  and,  therefore,  do  not  probably  belong  to  the 
Village  Indians  who  constructed  the  works  in  the  Scioto  Valley.  If  to  those 
first  named  are  added  the  emblematical  earth-works  figured  and  described 
by  Lapham,1  and  a few  other  works  not  known  to  Squier  and  Davis,  and 
since  described  by  other  persons,  there  are  something  more  than  one  hun- 
dred works,  large  and  small,  indicating  the  sites  of  Indian  villages,  of  which 
perhaps  three  quarters  were  occupied  at  the  same  time.2  The  conical  mounds 
raised  over  Indian  graves,  which  are  numerous,  are  not  included. 

“A  large,  perhaps  the  larger  portion  of  these  works,”  observe  the  same 
authors,  “are  regular  in  outline,  the  square  and  circle  predominating.  * * * 
The  regular  works  are  almost  invariably  erected  on  level  river  terraces. 
* * * The  square  and  the  circle  often  occur  in  combination,  frequently 

connecting  with  each  other.  * * * Most  of  the  circular  works  are  small, 

varying  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  feet  in  diameter,  while 
others  are  a mile  or  more  in  circuit.”3  These  embankments  are,  for  the 
most  part,  slight,  varying  from  two  feet  to  six,  eight,  ten,  and  twelve  feet 
in  height,  with  a broad  base,  caused  by  the  washing  down  of  the  banks  in 
the  course  of  centuries.  These  facts  are  shown  by  numerous  cross-sections 
furnished  with  the  ground-plans  by  the  authors.  But  the  circular  embank- 
ments are  usually  about  half  as  high  as  the  rectangular. 

Some  idea  of  the  size  of  Indian  villages,  and  of  their  nearness  to  eacli 
other,  is  necessary  to  form  an  impression  of  their  plan  of  life  and  mode  of 
settlement.  The  illustrations  should  be  drawn  from  the  Village  Indians, 
to  which  class  the  Mound-Builders  undoubtedly  belonged.  Not  knowing 
the  use  of  wells,  they  established  their  settlements  on  the  margins  of  rivers 
and  small  streams,  which  afforded  alluvial  land  for  cultivation,  and  often 
within  a few  miles  of  each  other.  In  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Chaco,  in  New 
Mexico,  there  were  several  pueblos  within  an  extent  of  twelve  miles,  each 
consisting  of  a single  joint-tenement  house,  constructed  usually  upon  three 
sides  of  a court;  and  westward  of  the  Chaco  Valley  were,  and  still  are,  the 
seven  Moki  pueblos,  within  an  extent  of  twenty-five  miles.  At  the  present 
time,  in  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  a single  pueblo  house,  accommodating 


1 Smithsonian  Cont.  to  Knowledge,  Vol.  V. 

2 When  a calamity  befalls  an  Indian  settlement  it  is  usually  abandoned. 

3 Smithsonian  Cont.  to  Knowledge,  I,  pp.  6 and  8. 


204  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


five  hundred  persons,  makes  an  Indian  village.  Two  or  three  such  houses, 
as  at  Taos  and  Santo  Domingo,  form  a large  pueblo  ; and  a group  of  several 
such  houses,  as  at  Zuni,  a pueblo  of  the  largest  size,  which  once  contained 
perhaps  five  thousand  persons,  now  reduced  to  fifteen  hundred.  There  are 
no  reasons  for  supposing  that  any  pueblo  in  Yucatan  or  Central  America  con- 
tained as  high  a number  as  ten  thousand  inhabitants  at  the  period  of  the 
Spanish  conquest,  although  these  countries  were  extremely  favorable  for 
an  increase  of  Indian  population.  Their  villages  were  numerous  and  small. 
Castaneda,  who  accompanied  the  expedition  of  Coronado  to  New  Mexico  in 
1 540—1542,  estimated  the  population  of  the  seventy  villages  visited  by  detach- 
ments and  situated  between  the  Colorado  River,  Zuni,  and  the  Arkansas  at 
twenty  thousand  men,  which  would  give  a total  population  in  this  wide 
area  of  a hundred  thousand  Indians.1  There  were  seven  villages  each  of 
Cibola,  Tusayan,  Quivira,  and  Hemes,  and  twelve  of  Tiguex;  it  would  give 
an  average  of  about  fourteen  hundred  and  fifty  persons  to  each  village.  In 
all  probability  these  are  fair  samples  as  to  the  number  of  inhabitants  of  the 
villages  of  the  Mound-Builders,  with  exceptional  cases,  as  the  village  on 
the  site  of  Marietta,  in  Ohio,  where  there  may  have  been  five  thousand,  if 
an  impression  may  be  formed  from  the  extent  of  the  earth- works  occupied 
in  the  manner  hereafter  suggested.  Where  several  villages  were  found  near 
each  other  on  the  same  stream,  as  in  New  Mexico,  the  people  usually  spoke 
the  same  dialect,  which  tends  to  show  that  those  in  each  group  were  colo- 
nists from  one  original  village. 

The  earth-works  of  the  Mound-Builders  must  be  regarded  as  the  sites 
of  their  villages.  The  question  then  recurs,  for  what  purpose  did  they  raise 
these  embankments  at  an  expenditure  of  so  much  labor"?  They  must  have 
lived  somewhere,  in,  upon,  or  around  them.  No  answer  has  been  given  to 
this  question,  and  no  serious  attempt  has  been  made  to  explain  their  uses. 
They  have  been  called  “defensive  enclosures”;  but  it  is  not  supposable  that 
they  lived  in  houses  within  the  embankments,  for  this  would  turn  the  places 
into  slaughter-pens  in  case  of  an  attack.  Some  of  them  have  been  called 
“sacred  enclosures”,  but  this  goes  for  nothing  apart  from  some  knowledge 
of  their  uses.  They  were  constructed  for  a practical,  intelligent  purpose, 


lColl.  T r n inn  x-Co  in  p a ns , vol.  ix,  pp.  181-183. 


MORGAN.] 


OBJECT  OF  EMBANKMENTS. 


205 


and  that  purpose  must  he  sought  in  the  needs  and  mode  of  life  of  the 
Mound-Builders  as  Village  Indians  ; and  it  should  he  expressed  in  the  works 
themselves.  If  a sensible  use  for  these  embankments  can  he  found,  its 
acceptance  will  relieve  us  from  the  delusive  inferences  which  are  certain  to 
he  drawn  from  them  so  long  as  they  are  allowed  to  remain  in  the  category 
of  the  mysteries. 

It  is  proposed  to  submit  a conjectural  explanation  of  the  objects  and 
uses  of  the  principal  embankments,  and  to  advocate  its  acceptance  on  the 
ground  of  inherent  probability.  It  will  be  founded  on  the  assumption  that 
the  Mound-Builders  were  horticultural  Village  Indians  who  had  immigrated 
from  beyond  the  Mississippi;  that  as  such  they  had  been  accustomed  to  live 
in  houses  of  adobe  bricks,  like  those  found  in  New  Mexico;  that  they  had 
become  habituated  to  living  upon  their  roof  terraces  as  elevated  platforms, 
and  in  large  households;  and  that  their  houses  were  in  the  nature  of  for- 
tresses, in  consequence  of  the  insecurity  in  which  they  lived.  Further  than 
this,  that  before  they  emigrated  to  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  they  were  accus- 
tomed to  snow,  and  to  a moderate  degree  of  winter  cold;  wore  skin  gar- 
ments, and  possibly  woven  mantles  of  cotton,  as  the  Cibolans  of  New 
Mexico  did  at  the  time  of  Coronado’s  expedition.1  The  food  of  the  New 
Mexicans,  at  this  time,  consisted  of  maize,  beans,  and  squashes,  and  a limited 
amount  of  game,  which  was  doubtless  the  food  of  the  Mound-Builders. 
Captain  Juan  Jaramillo,  who  accompanied  the  same  expedition,  remarks  in 
his  relation  that  the  Cibolans  “had  hardly  provisions  enough  for  themselves; 
what  they  had  consisted  of  maize,  beans,  and  squashes  ( maiz , des  haricots, 
et  des  colleges).  * * * qjie  Indians  clothe  themselves  with  deer  skins, 

very  well  prepared.  They  have  also  buffalo-skins  tanned,  in  which  they 
wrap  themselves.”2  Although  several  centuries  earlier  in  time,  the  Mound- 
Builders,  with  habits  of  life  similar  to  those  of  the  Cibolans,  in  1540,  would 

1 “The  snow  and  cold  are  wont  to  he  great,”  Coronado  remarks  in  liis  relation,  “for  so  say  the  in- 
liabitants  of  the  country;  and  it  is  very  likely  so  to  he,  both  in  respect  of  the  manner  of  the  country 
and  of  the  fashion  of  their  houses,  and  their  furs  and  other  things,  which  the  people  have  to  defend 
them  from  cold.  * * * They  have  no  cotton-wool  growing,  because  the  country  is  cold,  yet  they 

wear  mantles  thereof,  as  your  honor  may  see  by  the  show  thereof;  and  true  it  is  that  there  was  found 
in  their  houses  certain  yarn  made  of  cotton-wool.  * * * In  this  country  there  are  certain  skins, 

well  dressed,  and  they  dress  them  and  pain  t them  when  they  kill  their  oxen  [buffaloes],  for  so  they  say 
themselves.” — Hakluyt’s  Coll,  of  Voyages,  Loud,  ed.,  1600,  iii,  377. 

'-  Coll.  Ternaux-Compans,  ix,  369. 


206  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE  LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


understand,  besides  horticulture,  the  use  of’  adobe  bricks,  and  the  art  of 
constructing  long  joint-tenement  houses,  closed  up  in  the  first  story  for  de- 
fensive reasons,  and  built  in  the  terraced  form  two,  three,  and  four  stories 
high,  the  ascent  to  the  roof  of  the  first  story  being  made  by  ladders. 

If,  then,  a tribe  of  Village  Indians,  with  such  habits  and  experience, 
emigrated  centuries  ago  in  search  of  new  homes,  and  in  course  of  time  they, 
or  their  descendants,  reached  the  Scioto  Valle}7,  in  Ohio,  they  would  find  it 
impossible  to  construct  houses  of  adobe  bricks  able  to  resist  the  rains  and 
frosts  of  that  climate,  even  if  they  found  adobe  soil.  Some  modification  of 
their  house  architecture  would  be  forced  upon  them  through  climatic  reasons. 
They  might  have  used  stone,  if  possessed  of  sufficient  skill  to  quarry  it  and 
construct  walls  of  stone;  but  they  did  not  produce  such  houses.  Or  they 
might  have  fallen  back  upon  a house  of  inferior  grade,  located  upon  the 
level  ground,  such  as  the  timber-framed  houses  of  the  Minnitarees  and  Man- 
dans,  in  which  case  there  would  have  been  no  necessity  for  the  embankments 
in  question.  Or,  they  might  have  raised  these  embankments  of  earth,  inclosing 
rectangles  or  squares , and  constructed  long  houses  upon  them , which,  it  is  sub- 
mitted, is  precisely  what  they  did.  Such  houses  would  agree  in  general 
character  and  in  plan,  and  in  the  uses  to  which  they  were  adapted,  with  those 
of  the  aborigines  found  in  all  parts  of  America 

The  elevated  platform  of  earth  as  a house-site  is  an  element  in  Indian 
architecture  which  reappears  in  a conspicuous  manner  in  the  solid  pyra- 
midal platforms  upon  which  the  great  stone  structures  in  Yucatan  and  Cen- 
tral America  were  erected,  and  which  sprang  from  the  defensive  and  the 
communal  principles  in  living.  This  latter  principle  required  large  houses 
for  the  accommodation  of  a number  of  families  in  the  Lower  Status  of  bar- 
barism, and  large  enough  in  some  cases,  when  the  people  were  in  the  Mid- 
dle Status,  to  accommodate  an  entire  tribe.  When  adobe  bricks  were  used 
the  house  was  usually  a single  structure,  three  or  four  rooms  deep  and  three 
or  four  stories  high,  constructed  in  a block,  and  in  the  nature  of  a fortress. 
The  ground  story  was  little  used,  except  for  storage,  and  they  lived,  prac- 
tically, upon  the  roof  terraces.  When  the  use  of  stone  came  in,  the  struct- 
ure often  consisted  of  a main  building  four  or  five  hundred  feet  long,  and 
two  wings  two  and  three  hundred  feet  in  length,  inclosing  three  sides  of  an 


MORGAN.] 


HOUSES  OF  MOUND  BUILDERS. 


207 


open  court,  the  fourth  side  being-  protected  by  a low  stone  wall.  Such  were 
the  pueblos  now  in  ruins  upon  the  Rio  Chaco  in  New  Mexico 

In  the  highest  form  of  this  architecture  in  Yucatan  and  Chiapas,  the 
pyramidal  elevation  appears  faced  with  dry  stone  walls.  The  buildings 
upon  its  summit  were  often  in  the  form  of  a quadrangle,  with  an  open 
court  in  the  center;  but  the  buildings  were  generally  disconnected  at  the 
four  angles,  as  in  the  House  of  the  Nuns  at  Uxmal.  All  of  these  forms  are 
parts  of  one  system  of  indigenous  architecture;  and  the  several  parts  are 
susceptible  of  articulation  in  a series  representing  a progressive  develop- 
ment of  a common  thought,  that  of  joint  residence,  with  the  practice  of 
communism  "in  living  in  large  groups  in  the  same  house,  or  in  one  group 
consisting  of  the  entire  household. 

Let  us,  then,  inquire  whether  the  principal  embankments  of  the  Mound- 
Builders  were  adapted,  as  raised  platforms  of  earth,  for  the  sites  of  long 
houses  constructed  on  the  communistic  principle,  and  in  the  general  style 
of  the  houses  of  the  American  aborigines. 

In  the  valley  of  the  Scioto,  in  Ohio,  and  within  an  extent  of  twelve 
miles,  were  found  the  remains  of  seven  villages  of  the  Mound-Builders, 
four  upon  the  east  and  three  upon  the  west  side  of  the  river.  They  are 
among  the  best  of  their  works,  and  furnish  fair  examples  of  the  whole. 
One  of  the  number,  the  High  Bank  Pueblo,  is  shown  in  ground-plan  in  the 
engraving,  Fig.  46.  It  is  the  only  one  in  which  the  inclosure  is  octagonal 
instead  of  square.  The  remains  of  each  of  the  seven  consist  principally  of 
embankments  like  railway  grades  several  feet  high  and  correspondingly 
broad  at  the  base,  inclosing  a square  or  slightly  irregular  area,  the  embank- 
ment on  each  of  the  four  sides  being  about  a thousand  feet  long,  witli  an 
opening  or  gateway  in  the  middle  and  at  the  four  angles  of  the  square. 
Attached  to  or  quite  near  to  five  of  the  seven  are  large  circular  inclosures, 
each  formed  by  a similar  though  lower  embankment  of  earth  and  inclosing 
a space  somewhat  larger  than  the  squares.  The  respective  heights  of  the 
embankments,  forming  four  of  the  rectangles,  are  given  at  four,  six,  ten, 
and  twelve  feet;  and  of  three  of  the  circular  embankments,  at  five  and  six 
feet,  respectively. 

The  embankments  inclosing  the  squares  were  probably  the  sites  of  their 


208  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


houses;  since,  as  the  highest,  and  because  they  are  straight,  they  were  best 
adapted  to  the  purpose.  The  situations  of  these  pueblos  at  short  distances 
from  each  other  on  the  same  stream  accords  with  the  usages  of  the  Villaere 
Indians  of  New  and  Old  Mexico  and  Central  America  in  locating-  their  vil- 
lages  These  pueblos  were  probably  occupied  by  Mound-Builders  of  the 
same  tribe,  and  were  not  Unlikely  under  a common  government,  consisting 
of  a council  of  chiefs.  It  is  probable,  also,  that  they  were  constructed,  one 
after  the  other,  by  colonists  from  an  original  village. 

In  the  engraving,  Fig.  46,  the  form  and  relations  of  the  embankments 
are  shown,  with  cross-sections  indicating  their  elevation  and  present  ground- 
dimensions.  It  was  taken  from  the  work  of  Squier  and  Davis.1  These 
authors  remark  that  “the  principal  work  consists  of  an  octagon  and  circle, 
the  former  measuring  nine  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  the  latter  ten  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  in  diameter.  * * * The  walls  of  the  octagon  are  very 
bold,  and,  where  they  have  been  least  subject  to  cultivation,  are  now 
between  eleven  and  twelve  feet  in  height  by  about  fifty  feet  base.  The 
wall  of  the  circle  is  much  less,  nowhere  measuring  over  four  or  five  feet  in  alti- 
tude. In  all  these  respects,  as  in  the  absence  of  a ditch  and  the  presence 
of  the  two  small  circles,  this  work  resembles  the  Hopeton  Works.”2  Of  the 
latter,  which  is  nine  miles  above  on  the  Scioto,  they  remark  that  “the  walls 
of  the  rectangular  work  are  composed  of  a clayey  loam  twelve  feet  high 
by  fifty  feet  base  * * * They  resemble  the  heavy  grading  of  a rail- 

way, and  are  broad  enough  on  the  top  to  admit  of  the  passage  of  a coach.”3 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  octagonal  work  shown  in  the  engraving  con- 
sists of  seven  distinct  embankments.  Six  of  these  are  about  four  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  long,  and  the  remaining  one,  which  once  consisted  of  two 
equal  sections,  as  shown  by  the  mound  to  face  an  original  opening  in  the 
center,  now  forms  one  continuous  embankment  facing  one  side  of  the 
inclosed  area.  If  these  embankments  were  reformed,  with  the  materials 
washed  down  and  now  spread  over  a base  of  fifty  feet,  with  sloping  sides 
and  a level  summit,  they  would  form  new  embankments  thirty-seven  feet 
wide  at  base,  ten  feet  high,  and  with  a summit  platform  twenty-two  feet 
wide.  If  a surface  coating  of  clay  were  used,  the  sides  could  be  made 


1 Smith  Con.,  vol.  i,  pi.  xvi. 


2Ib.,  p.  50. 


3 lb.,  p.  51. 


ROSS  CO.  OHIO. 


a \ 

.Vug  holeLj-  — ^ 


<fj/ho7cs_ 


nM 


Forest. 


“i  iimniiiu , 


Sections 

(Oil 


• 3ZWZ 


Fig.  46.— Ground  plan  of  High  Bank  Pueld 


MORGAN.] 


EMBANKMENTS  FORMED  BASE  OF  HOUSES.  * 


209 


steeper  and  the  summit  platform  broader.  On  embankments  thus  reformed 
out  of  their  original  materials  respectable  as  well  as  sufficient  sites  would 
be  provided  for  long  joint-tenement  houses,  comparted  into  chambers  like 
stalls  opening  upon  a central  passage  way  through  the  structure  from  end 
to  end,  as  in  the  long-houses  of  the  Iroquois.  Such  embankments  were 
strikingly  adapted  to  houses  of  the  aboriginal  American  model,  the  charac- 
teristic feature  of  which  was  sufficient  length  to  afford  a number  of  apart- 
ments. This  feature  became  more  marked  in  the  houses  of  the  Village 
Indians,  among  whom  houses  three  hundred,  four  hundred,  and  even  five 
hundred  feet  in  length  have  been  found,  as  elsewhere  stated. 

These  embankments  answered  as  a substitute  for  the  first  story  of  the 
house  constructed  of  adobe  bricks,  which  was  usually  from  ten  to  twelve 
feet  high,  and  closed  up  solid  on  the  ground,  externally.  The  gateways 
entering  the  square  were  protected,  it  may  be  supposed,  with  palisades  of 
round  timber  set  in  the  ground,  each  row  of  stakes  commencing  at  the 
opposite  ends  of  the  embankments  and  contracting  after  passing  each  other 
to  a narrow  opening  on  the  inside,  which  might  be  permanently  closed. 
Indian  tribes  in  a lower  condition  than  the  Mound-Builders  were  familiar 
with  palisades.  The  inclosed  square  was  thus  completely  protected  by  the 
long-houses  standing  upon  these  embankments  and  the  gateways  guarding 
the  several  entrances.  The  pueblo,  externally,  would  present  continuous 
ramparts  of  earth  ten  feet  high,  around  an  inclosed  area,  surmounted  with 
timber-framed  houses  with  walls  sloping  like  the  embankments,  and  coated 
with  earth  mixed  with  clay  and  gravel,  rising  ten  or  twelve  feet  above  their 
summits ; the  two  forming  a sloping  wall  of  earth  twenty  feet  high.  It 
seems  extremely  probable,  for  the  reasons  stated,  that  they  raised  these 
embankments  as  foundations,  and  planted  their  long-houses  upon  them,  thus 
uniting  the  defensive  principle  with  that  of  communism  in  living.  Such 
houses  would  harmonize  with  the  general  plan  of  life  of  the  American  abo- 
rigines, and  with  the  general  type  of  their  house  architecture. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  know  the  exact  form  or  internal  plan  of  these 
houses  in  order  to  establish  this  hypothesis.  It  is  sufficient  to  show  that 
these  embankments  as  restored  were  not  only  adapted,  but  admirably 
adapted,  to  joint-tenement  houses  of  the  aboriginal  American  type. 

14 


210  HOUSE'S  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


The  restoration,  Fig.  47,  was  drawn  by  my  friend  James  Gr.  Cutler,  esq., 
of  Rochester,  architect,  in  accordance  with  the  foregoing  suggestions.  It 
shows  not  only  the  feasibility  of  occupying  these  embankments  with  long 
houses,  but  also  that  each  pueblo  was  designed  by  the  Mound- Builders  to  be  a 
fortress,  able  to  resist  assault  with  the  appliances  of  Indian  warfare.  From 
the  defensive  character  of  the  great  houses  of  the  Village  Indian  in 
general,  this  feature  might  have  been  expected  to  appear  in  the  houses  of 
the  Mound-Builders. 

In  this  restoration  the  houses  are  nearly  triangular  and  of  simple  con- 
struction. Indians  much  ruder  than  they  are  supposed  to  have  been,  as 
the  Minnitarees  and  Mandans,  walled  their  houses  with  slabs  of  wood  stand- 
ing on  a slope,  and  roofed  them  at  a lower  angle,  covering  both  the  sloping 
external  walls  and  the  roof  with  a “concrete  of  tough  clay  and  gravel,”  a foot 
or  more  thick.  Long  triangular  houses  of  the  width  of  the  summit  of  these 
embankments,  with  their  doorways  opening  upon  the  square,  and  with  the 
interior  comparted  in  the  form  of  stalls  upon  each  side  of  a central  passage 
way,  would  realize,  with  the  inclosed  court,  some  of  the  features  and  nearly 
all  the  advantages  of  the  New  Mexican  pueblo  houses.  Occupying  to  the 
edge  of  the  embankments,  these  of  the  Mound-Builders  could  not  be  suc- 
cessfully assailed  from  without  either  by  Indian  weapons  or  by  tire;  and 
within,  their  apartments  would  be  as  secure  and  capacious  as  those  of  the 
Village  Indians  in  general  at  the  period  of  their  discovery.  The  inclosed 
court,  which  is  of  unusual  size,  is  one  of  the  remarkable  features  of  the 
plan.  It  afforded  a protected  place  for  the  villagers  and  a place  of  recrea- 
tion for  their  children,  as  well  as  room  for  their  drying-scaffolds,  of  which 
Mr.  Cutler  has  introduced  a number  of  the  Minnitaree  and  Mandan  model, 
and  for  gardens  if  they  chose  to  use  a part  of  the  area  for  that  purpose. 
They  would  also  require  room  for  a large  accumulation  of  fuel  for  winter 
use.  The  only  assailable  points  are  the  gateways,  of  which  the  embank- 
ments show  seven.  These  undoubtedly  were  protected  by  rows  of  round 
timber  set  in  the  ground,  and  passing  each  other  in  such  a manner  as  to 
leave  a narrow  opening,  with  a mound  back  of  each,  upon  which  archers 
could  stand  and  shoot  their  arrows  over  the  heads  of  those  between  them 


Fig.  47. — Restoration  of  Hij>li  Bank  Pueblo. 


■ 

- 


Fig.  48. — Ground  plan  and  sections  oi  house,  High  Bank  Puehlo, 


MORGAN.] 


SUPPOSED  GROUND  SECTION  OF  HOUSE. 


211 


and  the  gateway  in  front.  Such  at  least  is  the  object  which  the  presence 
of  the  mound  in  each  case  suggests. 

In  the  engraving,  Fig.  48,  there  is  a ground  plan  of  a section  of  one 
of  the  long-houses  resting  upon  the  restored  embankment.  It  shows  eight 
apartments  upon  opposite  sides  of  the  central  passage,  each  nine  feet  wide 
by  six  feet  deep,  and  surrounded  by  raised  bunks  used  both  for  seats  and 
beds.  The  passage  is  eight  feet  wide  and  runs  through  the  house  from  end 
to  end,  with  fire-pits  in  the  center  for  each  four  apartments.  In  interior 
plan  it  is  an  exact  transcript  of  the  long-house  of  the  Iroquois,  and  therefore 
adapted  to  the  joint  habitation  of  a large  number  of  related  families,  and 
to  the  practice  of  communism. 

Another  section  shows  the  embankment  below  the  line  A-B,  which,  as 
stated,  is  ten  feet  high  upon  a base  thirty-seven  feet  wide,  and  with  a sum- 
mit platform  twenty-two  feet  wide,  which  forms  the  floor  of  the  house. 
Above  this  is  a cross-section  of  the  structure  Round  posts  six  inches  in 
diameter  are  set  in  the  ground  upon  the  lines  of  the  central  passage,  defin- 
ing also  the  several  stalls.  These  posts,  which  rise  eight  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  floor  and  are  forked  at  the  top,  support  string-pieces  which  run 
the  length  of  the  house  Against  these,  planks  of  split  timber  are  placed 
so  as  to  form  a sloping  external  wall,  and  these  are  covered  with  clay  and 
gravel  a foot  or  more  thick.  A simpler  method  would  be  the  use  of  poles 
set  close  together  and  sunk  in  the  ground,  afterwards  coated  in  the  same 
manner.  Cross-pieces  of  round  timber  rest  upon  the  stringers  over  each 
pair  of  posts.  The  roof  over  the  central  passage  is  formed  independently 
of  poles  bracing  against  each  other  at  the  center  from  opposite  sides.  This 
is  also  covered  with  concrete  or  mud  mortar.  Openings  through  the  roof 
are  left  over  the  fire-pits  for  the  exit  of  the  smoke.  The  principle  of  con- 
struction adopted  is  that  employed  in  the  dirt  lodges  of  the  Minnitarees  and 
Mandans  of  the  Upper  Missouri.1  As  thus  restored,  this  pueblo  of  the 
Mound-Builders  is  not  superior  in  the  mechanism  of  the  houses  to  those  of 
the  tribes  named. 

An  elevation  of  a portion  of  one  of  the  houses,  on  the  court  side,  is 
also  furnished,  showing  the  embankment  with  a ladder  resting  upon  it  used 


There  are  some  reasons  for  supposing  that  the  Minnitarees  are  descendants  of  the  Mound-Builders. 


212  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


as  steps,  and  which  could  be  taken  up  at  night;  also  one  of  the  doors  by 
which  the  house  was  entered. 

It  is  not  necessary,  as  before  suggested,  that  the  actual  form  and  struct- 
ure of  the  houses  of  the  Mound-Builders  should  be  shown  to  establish  the 
hypothesis  that  these  embankments  were  the  veritable  sites  of  their  houses. 
If  it  is  made  evident  that  the  summit  platforms  of  these  embankments, 
when  reformed  from  their  own  materials,  would  afford  practicable  sites  for 
houses,  which  when  constructed  would  have  been  comfortable  dwellings 
adapted  to  the  climate  and  to  Indian  life  in  the  Middle  Status  of  barbarism, 
this  is  all  that  can  be  required.  The  restoration  of  this  pueblo  establishes 
the  affirmative  of  this  proposition,  with  the  superadded  confirmation  of  that 
defensive  character  which  marks  all  the  house  architecture  of  the  Village 
Indians  in  New  and  Old  Mexico  and  Central  America. 

With  their  undoubted  advancement  beyond  the  Iroquois  and  Minnita- 
rees,  the  Mound-Builders  may  have  constructed  better  houses  upon  these 
platform  elevations  than  the  plans  indicate.  No  remains  of  adobes  have 
been  found  in  connection  with  these  embankments,  and  nothing  to  indicate 
that  walls  of  such  brick  had  ever  been  raised  upon  them.  The  disinte- 
grated mass  would  have  shown  itself  in  the  form  of  the  embankment  after 
the  lapse  of  many  centuries.  On  the  contrary,  they  were  found  in  the  pre- 
cise form  they  would  have  assumed,  under  atmospheric  influences,  after 
structures  of  the  kind  described  had  perished,  and  the  embankments  had 
been  abandoned  for  centuries. 

These  embankments,  therefore,  require  triangular  houses  of  the  kind 
described,  and  long-liouses,  as  well,  covering  their  entire  length.  But  the 
interior  plan  might  have  been  different;  for  example,  the  passage  way  might 
have  been  along  the  exterior  wall,  and  the  stalls  or  apartments  on  the  court 
side,  and  but  half  as  many  in  number;  and,  instead  of  one  continuous 
house  in  the  interior,  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length,  it  might  have 
been  divided  into  several,  separated  from  each  other  by  cross  partitions. 
The  plan  of  life,  however,  which  we  are  justified  in  ascribing  to  them,  from 
known  usages  of  Indian  tribes  in  a similar  condition  of  advancement,  would 
lead  us  to  expect  large  households  formed  on  the  basis  of  kin,  with  the 
practice  of  communism  in  living  in  each  household,  whether  large  or  small. 


MORGAN.] 


HOUSES  SAFE  AGAINST  INDIAN  ASSAULT. 


213 


There  is  a direct  connection  in  principle  between  the  platform  eleva- 
tions inclosing  a large  square  on  which  the  High  Bank  Pueblo  was  con- 
structed, and  the  pyramidal  platforms  in  Yucatan,  smaller  in  diameter  but 
higher  in  elevation,  upon  which  were  erected  the  most  artistic  houses  con- 
structed by  the  American  aborigines.  In  the  latter  cases  the  central  area 
rises  to  the  common  level  of  the  embankments  upon  which  the  houses  were 
constructed.  The  former  has  the  security  gained  by  a house-site  above 
the  level  of  the  surrounding  ground ; and  it  represents  about  all  the 
advance  made  by  the  Village  Indians  in  the  art  of  war  above  the  tribes  in 
a lower  condition  of  barbarism.  They  placed  their  houses  and  homes  in  a 
position  unassailable  by  the  methods  of  Indian  warfare. 

There  is  some  diversity,  as  would  be  expected,  in  the  size  of  the 
squares  inclosed  by  these  embankments.  They  range  from  four  hundred 
and  fifty  to  seventeen  hundred  feet,  the  majority  measuring  between  eight 
hundred  and  fifty  and  a thousand  feet.  Gateways  are  usually  found  at  the 
four  angles  and  at  the  center  of  each  side.  A comparison  of  the  dimen- 
sions of  twenty  of  these  squares,  figured  in  the  “Ancient  Monuments  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley,”  gives  for  the  average  nine  hundred  and  thirty-seven 
feet.  The  aggregate  length  of  the  embankments  shown  in  Fig.  46  is  three 
thousand  six  hundred  feet,  which,  at  an  average  of  ten  feet  for  each  apart- 
ment, would  give  three  hundred  and  sixty  upon  each  side  of  the  passage 
way,  or  seven  hundred  and  twent}^  in  all.  From  this  number  should  be 
deducted  such  as  were  used  for  storage,  for  doorways,  and  for  public  uses. 
Allowing  two  apartments  for  each  family  of  five  persons,  the  High  Bank 
Pueblo  would  have  accommodated  from  fifteen  hundred  to  two  thousand 
persons,  living  in  the  fashion  of  Indians,  which  is  about  the  number  of  an 
average  pueblo  of  the  Village  Indians.  This  result  may  be  strengthened 
by  comparing  houses  of  existing  Indian  tribes.  The  Seneca-Iroquois  vil- 
lage of  Tiotohatton,  two  centuries  ago,  was  estimated  at  a hundred  and 
twenty  houses.  Taking  the  number  at  one  hundred,  with  an  average 
length  of  fifty  feet,  and  it  would  give  a lineal  length  of  house-room  of  five 
thousand  feet  It  was  the  largest  of  the  Seneca,  and  the  largest  of  the 
Iroquois  villages,  and  contained  about  two  thousand  inhabitants.  A simi- 
lar result  is  obtained  by  another  comparison.  The  aggregate  length  of  the 


214  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


apartments  in  the  pueblo  of  Chetro  Kettle,  in  New  Mexico,  now  in  ruins, 
including  those  in  the  several  stories,  is  four  thousand  seven  hundred  feet. 
It  contained  probably  about  the  same  number  of  inhabitants. 

The  foregoing  explanation  of  the  uses  of  these  embankments  rests 
upon  the  defensive  principle  in  the  house  architecture  of  the  Village 
Indians,  and  upon  a state  of  the  family  requiring  joint-tenement  houses 
communistic  in  character.  To  both  of  these  requirements  this  conjectural 
restoration  of  one  of  the  pueblos  of  the  Mound-Builders  responds  in  a 
remarkable  manner.  In  the  diversified  forms  of  the  houses  of  the  Village 
Indians,  in  all  parts  of  America,  the  defensive  principle  is  a constant  fea- 
ture. Among  the  Mound-Builders  a rampart  of  earth  ten  feet  high  around 
a village  would  afford  no  protection ; but  surmounted  with  long-houses, 
the  walls  of  which  rose  continuous  with  the  embankments,  the  strength  of 
these  walls,  though  of  timber  coated  with  earth,  would  render  a rampart 
thus  surmounted  and  doubled  in  height  a formidable  barrier  against  Indian 
assault.  The  second  principle,  that  of  communism  in  living  in  joint-tene- 
ment houses,  which  is  impressed  not  less  clearly  upon  the  houses  of  the 
Village  Indians  in  general  than  upon  the  supposed  houses  of  the  Mound- 
Builders,  harmonized  completely  with  the  first.  From  the  two  together 
sprang  the  house  architecture  of  the  American  aborigines,  with  its  diversi- 
ties of  form,  and  they  seem  sufficient  for  its  interpretation.  The  Mound- 
Builders  in  their  new  area  east  of  the  Mississippi,  finding  it  impossible  to 
construct  joint-tenement  houses  of  adobe  bricks  to  which  they  had  been 
accustomed,  substituted  solid  embankments  of  earth  in  the  place  of  the  first 
story  closed  up  on  the  ground,  and  erected  triangular  houses  upon  them 
covered  with  earth.  When  circumstances  compelled  a change  of  plan,  the 
second  is  not  a violent  departure  from  the  first.  There  is  a natural  con- 
nection between  them.  Finally,  it  is  deemed  quite  sufficient  to  sustain  the 
interpretation  given,  that  these  embankments  were  eminently  adapted  to 
the  uses  indicated;  and  that  the  pueblo  as  restored,  and  with  its  inclosed 
court,  would  have  afforded  to  its  inhabitants  pleasant,  protected,  and 
attractive  homes. 

With  respect  to  the  large  circular  inclosures,  adjacent  to  and  communi- 
cating with  the  squares,  it  is  not  necessary  that  we  should  know  their 


MORGAN.  1 


CIRCULAR  EMBANKMENT  AROUND  GARDEN. 


215 


object.  The  one  attached  to  the  High  Bank  Pneblo  contains  twenty  acres 
of  land,  and  doubtless  subserved  some  useful  purpose  in  their  plan  of  life. 
The  first  suggestion  which  presents  itself  is,  that  as  a substitute  for  a fence 
it  surrounded  the  garden  of  the  village  in  which  they  cultivated  their  maize, 
beans,  squashes,  and  tobacco.  At  the  Minnitaree  village  a similar  inclosure 
may  now  be  seen  by  the  side  of  the  village  surrounding  their  cultivated 
land,  consisting  partly  of  hedge  and  partly  of  stakes,  the  open  prairie 
stretching  out  beyond.  We  cannot  know  all  the  necessities  that  attended 
their  mode  of  life;  although  houses,  gardens,  food,  and  raiment  were  among 
those  which  must  have  existed 

There  is  another  class  of  circular  embankments,  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  in  diameter,  connected  with  each  other  in  some  cases  by  long 
and  low  parallel  embankments,  as  may  be  seen  in  Fig.  46.  Undoubtedly 
they  were  for  some  useful  purpose,  which  may  or  may  not  be  divined  cor- 
rectly, but  a knowledge  of  which  is  not  necessary  to  our  hypothesis  respect- 
ing the  principal  embankments.  It  may  be  suggested  as  probable  that  the 
Mound-Builders  were  organized  in  gentes,  phratries,  and  tribes.  If  this 
were  the  case,  the  phratries  would  need  separate  places  for  holding  their 
councils  and  for  performing  their  religious  observances.  These  ring  em- 
bankments suggest  the  circular  estufas  found  in  connection  with  the  New 
Mexican  pueblos,  two,  four,  and  sometimes  five  at  one  pueblo.  The  circles 
were  adapted  to  open-air  councils, 'after  the  fashion  of  the  American  Indian 
tribes.  As  there  are  two  of  these  connected  with  each  other,  and  two  not 
connected,  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  Mound-Builders  at  this  village  were 
organized  in  two  and  perhaps  four  phratries,  and  that  they  performed  their 
religious  ceremonies  and  public  business  in  these  open  estufas.1 

Practice  of  Cremation, — Among  other  works  are  the  conical  mounds, 
which  are  numerous,  found  in  or  near  circular  embankments.  They  vary 
in  height  from  five  to  ten  and  twenty  feet ; with  one,  the  Grave  Creek 
Mound,  seventy  feet  high.  They  are  classified  by  Squier  and  Davis,  who 

1 The  solid  rectangular  platforms  found  at  Marietta,  Ohio,  and  at  several  places  in  the  Gulf  region, 
are  analogous  to  those  in  Yucatan.  They  are  an  advance  upon  the  ring  inclosures,  and  were  probably 
designed  for  religious  uses. 

That  the  Mound-Builders  were  at  one  time  accustomed  to  adobe  brick  is  proven  by  their  presence 
at  Seltzertown,  in  the  State  of  Mississippi,  forming  a part  of  the  wall  of  a mound.  (See  Foster’s  Pre- 
Iiistoric  Paces  of  the  U.  S.,  p.  112.) 


216  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


surveyed  and  examined  them,  into  “Mounds  of  Sacrifice,”  “Mounds  of 
Sepulture,”  and  “Mounds  of  Observation”  The  first  kind  only,  in  which 
the  so-called  “altars”  are  found,  will  be  noticed. 

At  the  center  of  each  of  the  mounds  of  this  class,  and  on  the  ground- 
level,  there  was  found  a bed  of  clay,  artificially  formed  into  a shallow  basin, 
and  then  hardened  by  fire.  These  basins  have  been  termed  “ altars”  by 
Squier  and  Davis  in  their  work  on  the  “Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Missis- 


sippi Valley.”  Mr.  Squier  remarks  in  a iTsumd  of  this  work,  published 
separately,  that  “some  are  round,  others  elliptical,  and  others  square  or 
parallelograms.  * * * qqie  usual  dimensions  are  from  five  to  eight 

feet.”1 

At  Mound  City,  on  the  Scioto  River,  there  is  a group  of  twenty-six 
mounds  in  one  inclosure,  an  engraving  of  one  of  which,  taken  from  Mr. 
Squier’s  paper,  is  shown  in  Fig.  49.  It  is  seven  feet  high  by  fifty-five 
feet  base,  and  contained  the  artificial  clay  basin  in  question.  F F is  the 
basin,  which  is  round,  and  measures  from  c to  d nine  feet,  and  from  a to  e 
five  feet.  The  height  from  h to  e is  twenty  inches,  and  the  dip  of  the  curve, 
a toe,  is  nine  inches.  “The  body  of  the  altar,”  Mr  Squier  remarks,  “is 
burned  throughout,  though  in  a greater  degree  within  the  basin,  where  it 


1 Observalions,  etc.,  Trans.  Am.  Etli.  Soc.,  ii,  158. 


MORGAN.] 


CREMATION  BY  INDIANS. 


217 


was  so  hard  as  to  resist  the  blow  of  a heavy  hatchet,  the  instrument  re- 
bounding  as  if  struck  upon  a rock.  The  basin,  or  hollow  of  the  altar,  was 
filled  up  even  full  with  dry  ashes,  intermingled  with  which  were  some  frag- 
ments of  pottery.  * * * One  of  the  vases,  taken  in  fragments  from  the 
mound,  has  been  very  nearly  restored.  The  sketch  B presents  its  outlines 
and  the  character  of  its  ornaments.  Its  height  is  six,  and  its  greatest  diam- 
eter eight  inches  * * * Above  the  deposit  of  ashes,  and  covering  the 
entire  basin,  was  a layer  of  silvery  or  opaque  mica  in  sheets  overlapping 
each  other;  and  immediately  over  the  center  of  the  basin  was  heaped  a 
quantity  of  human  bones,  probably  the  amount  of  a single  skeleton,  in 
fragments.  The  position  of  these  is  indicated  by  0 in  the  section.  The 
layer  of  mica  and  calcined  bones,  it  should  be  remarked  to  prevent  mis- 
apprehension, was  peculiar  to  this  individual  mound,  and  not  found  in  any 
other  of  the  class.”1  Calcined  bones,  however,  were  found  in  three  out 
of  some  twenty  mounds  of  this  class  examined.2 

The  question  now  recurs,  what  was  the  use  of  the  basin  of  clay,  and 
what  the  object  of  the  mound  itself?  The  terms  “altars”  and  “mounds  of 
sacrifice,”  employed  in  describing  them,  imply  that  human  sacrifices  were 
offered  on  these  “ altars,”  “upon  which  glowed  the  sacrificial  fires.”3  There 
is  no  propriety,  1 respectfully  submit,  in  the  use  of  either  of  these  terms, 
or  in  the  conclusions  they  would  force  us  to  adopt. 

Human  sacrifices  were  unknown  in  the  Lower  Status  of  barbarism; 
but  they  were  introduced  in  the  Middle  Status,  when  the  first  organized 
priesthood,  distinguished  by  their  apparel,  appears.  In  parts  of  Mexico, 
and,  it  is  claimed,  in  parts  of  Central  America,  these  atrocious  rites  were  per- 
formed ; but  they  were  unknown  in  New  Mexico,  and,  without  better  evi- 
dence than  these  miscalled  altars  afford,  they  cannot  be  fastened  upon  the 
Mound-Builders.  Moreover,  these  clay  beds  were  not  adapted  to  the  bar- 
barous work.  Wherever  human  sacrifices  are  known  to  have  occurred 
among  the  American  aborigines,  the  place  was  an  elevated  mound  platform, 
in  the  nature  of  a temple,  as  the  Teocalli  of  Mexico,  and  the  raised  altar 
or  sacrificial  stone  stood  before  the  idol  in  whose  worship  the  rites  were 
performed.  There  is  neither  a temple  nor  an  idol;  but  a hollow  bed  of  clay 


Observations,  etc.,  Trans.  Am.  Eth.  Soe.,  ii,  p.  1G1. 


2Anc.  Mon.,  etc.,  pp.  157,  151).  3 lb.,  p.  155. 


218  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE  LIFE  OP  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


covered  by  a mound  raised  in  honor  over  the  ashes  of  a deceased  chief,  for 
assuredly  such  a mound  would  not  have  been  raised  over  the  ashes  of  a 
victim.  Indians  never  exchanged  prisoners  of  war.  Adoption  or  burning 
at  the  stake  was  the  alternative  of  capture;  but  no  mound  was  ever  raised 
over  the  burned  remains.  Human  sacrifices  seem  to  have  originated  in  an 
attempt  to  utilize  the  predetermined  death  of  prisoners  of  war  in  the  service 
of  the  gods,  until  slavery  finally  offered  a profitable  substitute,  in  the  Upper 
Status  of  barbarism. 

Another  use  suggests  itself  for  this  artificial  basin  more  in  accordance 
with  Indian  usages  and  customs,  namely,  that  cremation  of  the  body  of 
a deceased  chief  was  performed  upon  it,  after  which  the  mound  in  question 
was  raised  over  his  ashes  in  accordance  with  Indian  custom. 

Cremation  was  practiced  by  the  Village  Indians  only  among  the  Ameri- 
can aborigines.  It  was  not  general  even  among  them,  burial  in  the  ground 
being  the  common  usage;  but  it  was  more  or  less  general  in  the  case  of 
chiefs.  The  mode  of  cremation  varied  in  different  areas,  but  the  full  par- 
ticulars are  not  given  in  any  instance.  In  Nicarauga  the  body  of  a deceased 
chief  of  the  highest  grade  was  wrapped  in  clothes  and  suspended  by  ropes 
before  a fire  until  the  body  was  baked  to  dryness ; then,  after  keeping  it  a 
year,  it  was  taken  to  the  market-place,  where  they  burned  it,  believing 
that  the  smoke  went  “to  the  place  where  the  dead  man’s  soul  was.”1  From 
this  or  some  similar  conceit  the  practice  of  cremation  probably  originated. 


THE  PROBABLE  NUMBERS  OF  THE  MOUND-BUILDERS. 

There  are  no  reasons  for  supposing,  from  the  number  of  their  villages, 
that  the  Mound-Builders  were  a numerous  people.  My  friend,  Prof.  Charles 
Whittlesey,  in  a discussion  of  the  rate  of  increase  of  the  human  race,  esti- 
mates them  at  500, 000.2  With  thanks  for  the  moderateness  of  the  estimate, 
one-third  of  that  number  would  have  been  more  satisfactory.  Dense  popu- 
lations, an  expression  sometimes  applied  to  the  Mound-Builders,  have  never 


“Herrera’s  Hist.  America,  ii,  133. 


2Trans.  Am.  Ass.  for  the  Adv.  of  Science,  1873,  p.  320. 


MORGAN.] 


VOLUNTARY  WITHDRAWAL. 


219 


existed  without  either  flocks  and  herds,  or  field  agriculture  with  the  use  of 
the  plow.  In  some  favored  areas,  where  the  facilities  for  irrigation  were 
unusual,  a considerable  population  has  been  developed  upon  horticulture; 
but  no  traces  of  irrigating'  canals  have  been  found  in  connection  with  the 
works  of  the  Mound-Builders.  Furthermore,  it  was  unnecessary  in  their 
areas.  Transplanted  from  a comparatively  mild  to  a cold  climate,  they  must 
have  found  the  struggle  for  existence  intensified.  Like  the  Cibolans  in  1 540, 
it  was  doubtless  at  all  times  equally  true  of  them,  that  “they  had  barely 
provisions  enough  for  themselves.”  And  yet  there  is  no  cereal  equal  to 
maize  in  the  rich  reward  it  returns  even  for  poor  cultivation.  It  grows  in 
the  hill,  can  be  eaten  green  as  well  as  ripe,  and  is  hardy  and  prolific.  At 
the  same  time,  while  it  can  be  made  the  basis  of  human  subsistence,  it  is 
not  sufficient  of  itself  for  the  maintenance  of  vigorous,  healthful  life.  Vege- 
tables and  game  were  requisite  to  complete  the  supply  of  food.  The  diffi- 
culties in  the  way  of  production  set  a limit  to  their  numbers.  These  also 
explain  the  small  number  of  their  settlements  in  the  large  areas  over  which 
they  spread.  Although  they  found  native  copper  on  the  south  shore  of  Lake 
Superior,  and  beat  it  into  chisels  and  a species  of  pointed  spade,  the  number 
of  copper  tools  found  is  small,  much  too  small  to  lead  to  the  supposition 
that  it  sensibly  influenced  their  cultivation.  A pick  pointed  with  a stone 
chisel,  a spade  of  wood,  and  a triangular  piece  of  flint  set  in  a wooden 
handle  and  used  as  a knife,  were  as  perfect  implements  as  they  were  able 
to  command.  Horticulture  practiced  thus  rudely  was  necessarily  of  limited 
productiveness. 

The  idea  has  been  advanced  that  “the  condition  of  society  among  the 
Mound-Builders  was  not  that  of  freemen,  or,  in  other  words,  that  the  state 
possessed  absolute  power  over  the  lives  and  fortunes  of  its  subjects.”1  It  is 
a sufficient  answer  to  this  remarkable  passage  that  a people  unable  to  dig  a 
well  or  build  a dry  stone  wall  must  have  been  unable  to  establish  political 
society,  which  was  necessary  to  the  existence  of  a state. 

From  the  absence  of  all  traditionary  knowledge  of  the  Mound-Builders 
among  the  tribes  found  east  of  the  Mississippi,  an  inference  arises  that  the 


'Foster’s  Pre-historic  Paces,  etc.,  p.  386. 


220  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


period  of  their  occupation  was  ancient.  Their  withdrawal  was  probably 
gradual,  and  completed  before  the  advent  of  the  ancestors  of  the  present 
tribes,  or  simultaneous  with  their  arrival.  It  seems  more  likely  that  their 
retirement  from  the  country  was  voluntary  than  that  they  were  expelled  by 
an  influx  of  wild  tribes.  If  their  expulsion  had  been  the  result  of  a pro- 
tracted warfare,  all  remembrance  of  so  remarkable  an  event  would  scarcely 
have  been  lost  among  the  tribes  by  whom  they  were  displaced.  A warm 
climate  was  necessary  for  the  successful  maintenance  of  the  highest  form 
of  Village  Indian  life.  In  the  struggle  for  existence  in  this  cold  climate 
Indian  arts  and  ingenuity  must  have  been  taxed  quite  as  heavily  to  provide 
clothing  as  food.  It  is  therefore  not  improbable  that  the  attempt  to  trans- 
plant the  New  Mexican  type  of  village  life  into  the  valley  of  the  Ohio 
proved  a failure,  and  that  after  great  efforts,  continued  through  centuries  of 
time,  it  was  finally  abandoned  by  their  withdrawal,  first  into  the  gulf  region 
through  which  they  entered,  and,  lastly,  from  the  country  altogether. 

The  Tlascalans  practiced  cremation,  but  it  was  generally  limited  to  the 
chiefs.1  It  was  the  same  among  the  Aztecs.  “Others  were  burnt  and  the 
ashes  buried  in  the  temples,  but  they  were  all  interred  with  whatever  things 
of  value  they  possessed.2  The  Mayas  of  Yucatan  came  nearer  the  Romans 
in  the  practice,  for  they  preserved  the  ashes  in  earthen  vessels.  “ The  dead 
were  much  lamented,”  remarks  Herrera,  “in  silence  by  day  and  with  dismal 
shrieks  by  night  * * * filling  their  mouths  with  ground  wheat  [maize] 

that  they  might  not  want  food  in  the  other  world.  * * * The  bodies 

of  their  lords  were  burnt  and  their  ashes  put  into  large  vessels,  over  which 
temples  were  built.  Some  made  wooden  statues  of  their  parents,  and  leav- 
ing an  hollow  in  the  necks  of  them,  put  in  their  ashes  and  kept  them  among 
their  idols  with  great  veneration.”3  In  New  Mexico  cremation  is  occasion- 
ally practiced  at  the  present  time. 

That  the  Mound-Builders  should  have  had  this  custom,  in  view  of 
its  prevalence  among  the  Village  Indians,  would  afford  no  cause  of  surprise. 
I think  we  may,  not  without  reason,  recognize  in  this  artificial  basin  of  clay 
a cremation  bed,  upon  which  the  body  was  placed  in  a sitting  posture, 
covered  with  fuel,  and  then  burned — in  some  cases  partially,  and  in  others 

*Ib.,  iv,  175. 


‘Herrera’s  Hist.  America,  ii,  302. 


2 lb.,  iii,  220. 


MORGAN.] 


VO LUNTAEY  WITHDRA WAL. 


221 


until  every  vestige  of  the  body  had  been  burned  to  ashes — after  which,  or 
even  before  the  burning,  a mound  was  raised  over  them  as  a mark  of  honor 
and  respect.  These  mounds  have  yielded  a large  number  of  copper  and 
stone  implements,  pipes,  fragments  of  water  jars,  and  other  articles  usuall}7 
entombed  with  the  remains  of  the  dead.  It  seems  to  have  been  their 
method  of  cremation;  and  it  must  be  admitted  to  be  quite  as  respectable  as 
any  known  form  of  this  strange  practice  of  a large  portion  of  the  humaft  race. 


CHAPTER  X. 

HOUSES  OF  THE  AZTECS  OE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 

The  first  accounts  of  the  pueblo  of  Mexico  created  a powerful  sensa- 
tion in  Europe.  In  the  West  India  Islands  the  Spanish  discoverers  found 
small  Indian  tribes  under  the  government  of  chiefs;  but  on  the  continent, 
in  the  Valley  of  Mexico,  they  found  a confederacy  of  three  Indian  tribes 
under  a more  advanced  but  similar  government.  In  the  midst  of  the  valley 
was  a large  pueblo,  the  largest  in  America,  surrounded  with  water,  approached 
by  causeways;  in  fine,  a water-girt  fortress  impregnable  to  Indian  assault. 
This  pueblo  presented  to  the  Spanish  adventurers  the  extraordinary  spectacle 
of  an  Indian  society  lying  two  ethnical  periods  back  of  European  society, 
but  with  a government  and  plan  of  life  at  once  intelligent,  orderly,  and 
complete  There  was  aroused  an  insatiable  curiosity  for  additional  particu- 
lars, which  has  continued  for  three  centuries,  and  which  has  called  into 
existence  a larger  number  of  works  than  were  ever  before  written  upon  any 
people  of  the  same  number  and  of  the  same  importance 

The  Spanish  adventurers  who  captured  the  pueblo  of  Mexico  saw  a 
king  in  Montezuma,  lords  in  Aztec  chiefs,  and  a palace  in  the  large  joint- 
tenement  house  occupied,  Indian  fashion,  by  Montezuma  and  his  fellow- 
householders.  It  was,  perhaps,  an  unavoidable  self-deception  at  the  time, 
because  they  knew  nothing  of  the  Aztec  social  system.  Unfortunately  it 
inaugurated  American  aboriginal  history  upon  a misconception  of  Indian 
life  which  lias  remained  substantially  unquestioned  until  recently.  The 
first  eye-witnesses  gave  the  keynote  to  this  history  by  introducing  Monte- 
zuma as  a king,  occupying  a palace  of  great  extent  crowded  with  retainers, 
and  situated  in  the  midst  of  a grand  and  populous  city,  over  which,  and 
much  beside,  he  was  reputed  master.  But  king  and  kingdom  were  in  time 

found  too  common  to  express  all  the  glory  and  splendor  the  imagination  was 

222 


MORGAN.] 


EAELT  SPANISH  ACCOUNTS. 


223 


beginning  to  conceive  of  Aztec  society;  and  emperor  and  empire  gradually 
superseded  the  more  humble  conception  of  the  conquerors.1 

A psychological  fact,  which  deserves  a moment’s  notice,  is  revealed 
by  these  works,  written  as  they  were  with  a desire  for  the  truth  and 
without  intending  to  deceive  These  writers  ought  to  have  known  that 
every  Indian  tribe  in  America  was  an  organized  society,  with  definite 
institutions,  usages,  and  customs,  which,  when  ascertained,  would  have 
perfectly  explained  its  government,  the  social  relations  of  the  people,  and 
their  plan  of  life  Indian  society  could  be  explained  as  completely  and 
understood  as  perfectly  as  the  civilized  society  of  Europe  or  America  by 
finding  its  exact  organization  This,  strange  to  say,  was  never  attempted, 
or  at  least  never  accomplished,  by  any  one  of  these  numerous  and 
voluminous  writers.  To  every  author,  from  Cortes  and  Bernal  Diaz  to 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  and  Hubert  H Bancroft,  Indian  society  was  an 
unfathomable  mystery,  and  their  works  have  left  it  a mystery  still.  Igno- 
rant of  its  structure  and  principles,  and  unable  to  comprehend  its  pecu- 
liarities, they  invoked  the  imagination  to  supply  whatever  was  necessary  to 
fill  out  the  picture.  When  the  reason,  from  want  of  facts,  is  unable  to 
understand  and  therefore  unable  to  explain  the  structure  of  a given  society, 
imagination  walks  bravely  in  and  fearlessly  rears  its  glittering  fabric  to  the 
skies.  Thus,  in  this  case,  we  have  a grand  historical  romance,  strung  upon 

1 In  the  Despatches  of  Cortes  the  term  King  “ El  rey  ” is  not  used  in  speaking  of  Montezuma,  hut 
senor  and  cacique. 

The  Valley  of  Mexico,  including  the  adjacent  mountain  slopes  and  excluding  the  area  covered 
by  water,  was  about  equal  to  the  State  of  Ehode  Island,  which  contains  thirteen  hundred  square  miles; 
an  insignificant  area  for  a single  American  Indian  tribe.  But  the  confederacy  had  subdued  a number 
of  tribes  southward  and  southeastward  from  the  valley  as  far  as  Guatemala,  and  placed  them  under 
tribute.  Under  their  plan  of  government  it  was  impossible  to  incorporate  these  tribes  in  the  Aztec  con- 
federacy ; the  barrier  of  language  furnished  an  insuperable  objection ; and  they  were  left  to  govern 
themselves  through  their  own  chiefs,  and  according  to  their  own  usages  and  customs.  As  they  were 
neither  under  Aztec  government  nor  Aztec  usages,  there  is  no  occasion  to  speak  of  them  as  a part  of  the 
Aztec  confederacy,  or  even  as  an  appendage  of  its  government.  The  power  of  this  confederacy  did 
not  extend  a hundred  miles  beyond  the  Pueblo  of  Mexico  on  the  west,  northwest,  north,  northeast,  or 
east  sides,  in  each  of  which  directions  they  were  confronted  by  independent  and  hostile  tribes. 

The  population  of  the  three  confederate  tribes  was  confined  to  the  valley,  and  did  not  probably 
exceed  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  souls,  including  the  Moquiltes,  Xochomileos,  and  Chaleans,  if  it 
equaled  that  number,  which  would  give  nearly  twice  the  present  population  of  New  York  to  the  square 
mile,  and  a greater  population  to  the  square  mile  than  Ehode  Island  now  contains.  The  Spanish  esti- 
mates of  Indian  populations  were  gross  exaggerations.  Those  who  claim  a greater  population  for  the 
Valley  of  Mexico  than  that  indiealed  will  be  bound  to  show  how  a barbarous  people,  without  flocks 
and  herds  and  without  field  agriculture,  could  have  sustained  in  equal  areas  a larger  number  of  inhabi- 
tants than  a civilized  people  armed  with  these  advantages. 


224  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


the  conquest  of  Mexico  as  upon  a thread ; the  acts  of  the  Spaniards,  the 
pueblo  of  Mexico,  and  its  capture,  are  historical,  while  the  descriptions  of  Indian 
society  and  government  are  imaginary  and  delusive.  These  picturesque  tales 
have  been  read  with  wonder  and  admiration,  as  they  successively  appeared,  for 
three  hundred  and  fifty  years;  though  shown  to  be  romances,  they  will  con- 
tinue to  be  read  as  Robinson  Crusoe  is  read,  not  because  they  are  true,  but 
because  they  are  pleasing.  The  psychological  revelation  is  the  eager,  unde- 
finable  interest  aroused  by  any  picture  of  ancient  society.  It  is  felt  by 
every  stranger  when  he  first  walks  the  streets  of  Pompeii,  and,  standing 
within  the  walls  of  its  roofless  houses,  strives  to  picture  to  himself  the  life 
and  the  society  which  flourished  there  eighteen  hundred  years  ago.  In 
Mexico  the  Spaniards  found  an  organized  society  several  thousand  years 
further  back  of  their  own  than  Pompeian  society,  in  its  arts,  institutions, 
and  state  of  advancement.  It  was  this  revelation  of  a phase  of  the  ancient 
life  of  mankind  which  possessed  and  still  possesses  such  power  to  kindle 
the  imagination  and  inspire  enthusiasm.  It  caught  the  imagination  and 
overcame  the  critical  judgment  of  Prescott,  our  most  charming  writer;  it 
ravaged  the  sprightly  brain  of  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  and  it  carried  up  in 
a whirlwind  our  author  at  the  Golden  Gate. 

The  commendation  these  works  have  received  from  critical  journals 
reveals  with  painful  distinctness  the  fact  that  we  have  no  science  of  Ameri- 
can ethnology.  Such  a science,  resting  as  it  must  upon  verified  facts,  and 
dealing  with  the  institutions,  arts  and  inventions,  usages  and  customs,  lan- 
guages, religious  beliefs,  and  plan  of  government  of  the  Indian  tribes,  would, 
were  it  fairly  established,  command  as  well  as  deserve  the  respect  of  the 
American  people.  With  the  exception  of  an  amateur  here  and  there,  Ameri- 
can scholars  have  not  been  willing  to  devote  themselves  to  so  vast  a work. 
It  may  be  truly  said  at  this  moment  that  the  structure  and  principles  of 
Indian  society  are  but  partially  known,  and  that  the  American  Indian  him- 
self is  still  an  enigma  among  us.  The  question  is  still  before  us  as  a nation 
whether  we  will  undertake  the  work  of  furnishing  to  the  world  a scientific 
exposition  of  Indian  society,  or  leave  it  as  it  now  appears,  crude,  unmean- 
ing, unintelligible,  a chaos  of  contradictions  and  puerile  absurdities.  With 
a,  field  of  unequaled  richness  and  of  vast  extent,  with  the  same  Red  Race 


MORGAN.] 


INDIAN  SOCIETY  UNLIKE  EUROPEAN. 


225 


in  all  the  stages  of  advancement  indicated  by  three  great  ethnical  periods, 
namely  the  Status  of  savagery,  the  Lower  Status  of  barbarism,  and  the 
Middle  Status  of  barbarism,1  more  persons  ought  to  be  found  willing  to 
work  upon  this  material  for  the  credit  of  American  scholarship  It  will  be 
necessary  for  them  to  do  as  Herodotus  did  in  Asia  and  Africa,  to  visit  the 
native  tribes  at  their  villages  and  encampments,  and  study  their  institutions 
as  living  organisms,  their  condition,  and  their  plan  of  life.  When  this  has 
been  done  from  the  region  of  the  Arctic  Sea  to  Patagonia,  Indian  society 
will  become  intelligible,  because  its  structure  and  principles  will  be  under- 
stood. It  exhibits  three  distinct  phases,  each  with  a culture  peculiar  to 
itself,  lying  back  of  civilization,  and  back  of  the  Upper  Status  of  barbar- 
ism, having  very  little  in  common  with  European  society  of  three  hundred 
years  ago,  and  very  little  in  common  with  American  society  of  to-day.  Its 
institutions,  inventions,  and  customs  find  no  analogues  in  those  of  civilized 
nations,  and  cannot  be  explained  in  terms  adapted  to  such  a society.  Our 
later  investigators  are  doing  their  work  more  and  more  on  the  plan  of  direct 
visitation,  and  I make  no  doubt  a science  of  American  ethnology  will  yet 
come  into  existence  among  us  and  rise  high  in  public  estimation  from  the 
important  results  it  will  rapidly  achieve.  Precisely  what  is  now  needed  is 
the  ascertainment  and  scientific  treatment  of  this  material. 

After  so  general  a condemnation  of  Spanish  and  American  writers,  so 
far  as  they  represent  Aztec  society  and  government,  some  facts  and  some 
reasons  ought  to  be  presented  to  justify  the  charge.  Recognizing  the  obli- 
gation, I propose  to  question  the  credibility  of  so  much  of  the  second  vol- 
ume of  “ The  Native  Races”  and  of  so  much  of  other  Spanish  histories  as 
relate  to  two  subjects — the  character  of  the  house  in  which  Montezuma 
resided,  which  is  styled  a palace ; and  the  account  of  the  celebrated  dinner 
of  Montezuma,  which  is  represented  as  the  daily  banquet  of  an  imperial 
potentate.  Neither  subject,  considered  in  itself,  is  of  much  importance; 
but  if  the  accounts  in  these  two  particulars  are  found  to  be  fictitious  and 
delusive,  a breach  will  be  made  in  a vital  section  of  the  fabric  of  Aztec 
romance,  now  the  most  deadly  encumbrance  upon  American  ethnology. 

1 See  ante,  page  43,  note,  for  a definition  of  proposed  ethnical  or  culture  periods,  and  Ancient 
Society,  chapter  1,  “Ethnical  Periods.” 

15 


226  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


It  may  be  premised  that  there  is  a strong  probability,  from  what  is 
known  of  Indian  life  and  society,  that  the  house  in  which  Montezuma  lived 
was  a joint-tenement  house  of  the  aboriginal  American  model,  owned  by  a 
large  number  of  related  families,  and  occupied  by  them  in  common  as  joint 
proprietors ; that  the  dinner  in  question  was  the  usual  single  daily  meal  of 
a communal  household,  prepared  in  a common  cook-house  from  common 
stores,  and  divided,  Indian  fashion,  from  the  kettle;  and  that  all  the  Span- 
iards found  in  Mexico  was  a simple  confederacy  of  three  Indian  tribes,  the 
counterpart  of  which  was  found  in  all  parts  of  America. 

It  may  be  premised  further  that  the  Spanish  adventures  who  thronged 
to  the  New  World  after  its  discovery  found  the  same  race  of  Red  Indians 
in  the  West  India  Islands,  in  Central  and  South  America,  in  Florida,  and 
in  Mexico.1  In  their  mode  of  life  and  means  of  subsistence,  in  their  weap- 
ons, arts,  usages,  and  customs,  in  their  institutions,  and  in  their  mental  and 
physical  characteristics,  they  were  the  same  people  in  different  stages  of 
advancement.  No  distinction  of  race  was  observed,  and  none  in  fact 
existed.  They  were  broken  up  into  numerous  independent  tribes,  each 
under  the  government  of  a council  of  chiefs.  Among  the  more  advanced 
tribes,  confederacies  existed,  which  represented  the  highest  stage  their  gov- 
ernmental institutions  had  attained.  In  some  of  them,  as  in  the  Aztec  con- 
federacy, they  had  a principal  war-chief,  elected  for  life  or  during  good 
behavior,  who  was  the  general  commander  of  the  military  bands.  His 
powers  were  those  of  a general,  and  necessarily  arbitrary  when  in  the  field. 
Behind  this  war-chief- — noticed,  it  is  true,  by  Spanish  writers,  but  without 
explaining  or  even  ascertaining  its  functions — was  the  council  of  chiefs, 
“the  great  council  without  whose  authority,”  Acosta  remarks,  Montezuma 
“might  not  do  anything  of  importance.”2  The  civil  and  military  powers 
of  the  government  were  in  a certain  sense  co-ordinated  between  the  council 
of  chiefs  and  the  military  commander.  The  government  of  the  Aztec  con- 
federacy was  essentially  democratic,  because  its  organization  and  institu- 

1 “But  among  all  tlie  other  inhabitants  of  America  there  is  sucn  a striking  similitude  in  the  form 
of  their  bodies,  and  the  qualities  of  their  minds,  that  notwithstanding  the  diversities  occasioned  by  the 
influence  of  climate,  or  unequal  progress  in  improvement,  we  must  pronounce  them  to  he  descended 
from  one  source.”— Robertson’s  History  of  America,  Law’s  ed.,  p.  69. 

2 The  Natural  and  Moral  History  of  the  East  and  West  Indies,  Lond.  ed.,  1604,  Grimstone’s 
Trans.,  p.  485. 


MORGAN.] 


HOW  SPANISH  HISTORIES  SHOULD  BE  REGARDED. 


227 


tions  were  so.  If  a more  special  designation  is  needed,  it  will  be  sufficient 
to  describe  it  as  a military  democracy. 

The  Spaniards  who  overran  Mexico  and  Peru  gave  a very  different 
interpretation  of  these  two  organizations.  Having  found,  as  they  supposed, 
two  absolute  monarchies  with  feudal  characteristics,  the  history  of  American 
Indian  institutions  was  cast  in  this  mold.  The  chief  attention  of  Europeans 
in  the  sixteenth  century  was  directed  to  these  two  governments,  to  which 
the  affairs  of  the  numerous  remaining  tribes  and  confederacies  were  made 
subordinate.  Subsequent  history  has  run  in  the  same  grooves  for  more 
than  three  centuries,  striving  diligently  to  confirm  that  of  which  confirma- 
tion was  impossible.  The  generalization  was  perhaps  proper  enough,  that 
if  the  institutions  of  the  Aztecs  and  Peruvians,  such  well-advanced  Indian 
tribes,  culminated  in  monarchy,  those  of  the  Indian  tribes  generally  were 
essenthilly  monarchical,  and  therefore  those  of  Mexico  and  Peru  should 
represent  the  institutions  of  the  Red  Race. 

It  may  be  premised,  finally,  that  the  histories  of  Spanish  America  may 
be  trusted  in  whatever  relates  to  the  acts  of  the  Spaniards,  and  to  the  acts 
and  personal  characteristics  of  the  Indians ; in  whatever  relates  to  their 
weapons,  implements,  and  utensils,  fabrics,  food,  and  raiment,  and  things 
of  a similar  character.  But  in  whatever  relates  to  Indian  society  and  gov- 
eminent,  their  social  relations  and  plan  of  life,  they  are  nearly  worthless, 
because  they  learned  nothing  and  knew  nothing  of  either.  We  are  at  full 
liberty  to  reject  them  in  these  respects,  and  commence  anew ; using  any 
facts  they  may  contain  which  harmonize  with  what  is  known  of  Indian 
society.  It  was  a calamity  to  the  entire  Red  Race  that  the  achievements 
of  the  Village  Indians  of  Mexico  and  Central  America,  in  the  development 
of  their  institutions,  should  have  suffered  a shipwreck  so  nearly  total.  The 
only  remedy  for  the  evil  done  them  is  to  recover,  if  possible,  a knowledge 
of  their  institutions,  which  alone  can  place  them  in  their  proper  position  in 
the  history  of  mankind. 

In  order  to  understand  so  simple  an  event  in  Indian  life  as  Montezu- 
ma’s dinner,  it  is  necessary  to  know  certain  usages  and  customs,  and  even 
certain  institutions  of  the  Indian  tribes  generally,  which  had  a direct  bear- 
ing upon  the  dinner  of  every  Indian  in  America  at  the  epoch  of  the  Spanish 


228  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


conquest.  Although  it  may  seem  strange  to  the  reader,  it  requires  a knowl- 
edge of  several  classes  of  facts  to  comprehend  this  dinner,  such  as  : 1 . The 
organization  in  gentes,  phratries,  and  tribes.  2.  The  ownership  of  lands  in 
common.  3.  The  law  of  hospitality.  4.  The  practice  of  communism  in 
living1,  f).  The  communal  character  of  their  houses.  6.  Their  custom  of 
having  but  one  prepared  meal  each  day,  a dinner.  7 Their  separation  at 
meals,  the  men  eating  first,  and  the  women  and  children  afterwards.  These 
several  topics  have  been  considered  in  previous  chapters. 

Not  a vestige  of  the  ancient  pueblo  of  Mexico  (Tenoehtitlan)  remains 
to  assist  us  to  a knowledge  of  its  architecture.  Its  structures,  which  were 
useless  to  a people  of  European  habits,  were  speedily  destroyed  to  make 
room  for  a city  adapted  to  the  wants  of  a civilized  race.  We  must  seek  for 
its  characteristics  in  contemporary  Indian  houses  which  still  remain  in  ruins, 
and  in  such  of  the  early  descriptions  as  have  come  down  to  us,  and  then 
leave  the  subject  with  but  little  accurate  knowledge.  Its  situation,  partly 
on  dry  land  and  partly  in  the  waters  of  a shallow  artificial  pond  formed  by 
causeways  and  dikes,  led  to  the  formation  of  streets  and  squares,  which  were 
unusual  in  Indian  pueblos,  and  gave  to  it  a remarkable  appearance.  “There 
were  three  sorts  of  broad  and  spacious  streets,”  Herrera  remarks  ; “one  sort 
all  water  with  bridges,  another  all  earth,  and  a third  of  earth  and  water, 
there  being  a space  to  walk  along  on  land  and  the  rest  for  canoes  to  pass, 
so  that  most  of  the  streets  had  walks  on  the  sides  and  water  in  the  mid- 
dle.”1 Many  of  the  houses  were  large,  far  beyond  the  supposable  wants 
of  a single  Indian  family.  They  were  constructed  of  adobe  brick  and  of 
stone,  and  plastered  over  in  both  cases  with  gypsum,  which  made  them  a 
brilliant  white  ; and  some  were  constructed  of  a red  porous  stone.  In  cut- 
ting and  dressing  this  stone  flint  implements  were  used.2  The  fact  that  the 
houses  were  plastered  externally  leads  us  to  infer  that  they  had  not  learned 
to  dress  stone  and  lay  them  in  courses.  It  is  not  certainly  established  that 
they  had  learned  the  use  of  a mortar  of  lime  and  sand.  In  the  final  attack 
and  capture,  it  is  said  that  Cortes,  in  the  course  of  seventeen  days,  de- 
stroyed and  leveled  three-quarters  of  the  pueblo,  which  demonstrates  the 
flimsy  character  of  the  masonry.  Some  of  the  houses  were  constructed  on 


History  of  America,  ii,  361. 


2Clavigero,  ii,  238. 


MORGAN.] 


HOUSES  USUALLY  TWO  STORIES  HIGH. 


229 


three  sides  of  a court,  like  those  on  the  Rio  Chaco  in  New  Mexico,  others 
probably  surrounded  an  open  court  or  quadrangle,  like  the  House  of  the 
Nuns  at  Uxmal ; but  this  is  not  clearly  shown.  The  best  houses  were 
usually  two  stories  high,  an  upper  and  lower  floor  being  mentioned.  The 
second  story  receded  from  the  first,  probably  in  the  terraced  form.  Clavi- 
gero  remarks  that  “the  houses  of  the  lords  and  people  of  circumstance  were 
built  of  stone  and  lime.  They  consisted  of  two  floors,  having  halls,  large 
court-yards,  and  the  chambers  fitly  disposed;  the  roofs  were  flat  and  ter- 
raced; the  walls  were  so  well  whitened,  polished,  and  shining  that  they 
appeared  to  the  Spaniards  when  at  a distance  to  have  been  silver.  The 
pavement  or  floor  was  plaster,  perfectly  level,  plain,  and  smooth.  * * * 

The  large  houses  of  the  capital  had  in  general  two  entrances,  the  principal 
one  to  the  street,  the  other  to  the  canal.  They  had  no  wooden  doors  to 
their  houses.”1  The  house  was  entered  through  doorways  from  the  street, 
or  from  the  court,  on  the  ground-floor.  Not  a house  in  Mexico  is  mentioned 
by  any  of  the  early  writers  as  occupied  by  a single  family.  They  were  evi- 
dently joint-tenement  houses  of  the  aboriginal  American  model,  each  occu- 
pied by  a number  of  families  ranging  from  five  and  ten  to  one  hundred, 
and  perhaps  in  some  cases  two  hundred  families  in  a house. 

Before  considering  the  house  architecture  of  the  Aztecs,  it  remains  to 
notice,  briefly,  the  general  character  of  the  houses  of  the  Village  Indians 
within  the  areas  of  Spanish  visitation.  They  were  joint-tenement  houses, 
usually,  of  the  American  model,  adapted  to  communism  in  living,  like  those 
previously  described,  and  will  aid  us  to  understand  the  houses  of  the  pueblo 
of  Mexico. 

Herrera,  speaking  of  the  natives  of  Cuba,  remarks  that  “they  had 
caciques  and  towns  of  two  hundred  houses,  with  several  families  in  each  of 
them,  as  was  usual  in  Hispaniola.”2  The  Cubans  were  below  the  Sedentary 
Indians.  In  Yucatan,  the  houses  of  the  Mayas,  and  of  the  tribes  of  Guate- 
mala, Chiapas,  and  Honduras,  remain  in  ruins  to  speak  for  themselves,  and 
will  form  the  subject  of  the  ensuing  chapter.  On  the  march  to  Mexico, 
Cortez  and  his  men,  “being  come  down  into  the  plain,  took  up  their  quarters 
in  a country  house  that  had  many  apartments.”3  “At  Iztapalapa  he  was 


1 History  of  Mexico,  ii,  '232. 


- Ib.,  ii,  15. 


3 lb.,  ii,  320. 


230  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


entertained  in  a house  that  had  large  courts,  upper  and  lower  floors,  and  very 
delightful  gardens.  The  walls  were  of  stone,  the  timber- work  well  wrought; 
there  were  many  and  spacious  rooms,  hung  with  cotton  hangings,  extraor- 
dinary rich  in  their  way.”1  His  accommodations  in  the  pueblo  of  Mexico 
will  elsewhere  be  noticed.  After  the  capture  of  the  pueblo,  Alvaredo  was 
sent  southward  with  two  hundred  foot  and  forty  horse  to  the  province  of 
Tututlepec,  on  the  Pacific.  “When  he  arrived,  the  lord  of  Tututlepec 
offered  to  quarter  the  Spaniards  in  his  palace,  which  was  very  magnificent.”2 
In  1525  Cortez  made  his  celebrated  march  to  Guatemala  with  one  hundred 
and  fifty  horse,  the  same  number  of  foot,  and  three  hundred  Indians.  “Be- 
ing well  received  in  the  city  of  Apoxpalan,  Cortez  and  all  the  Spaniards, 
with  their  horses,  were  quartered  in  one  house,  the  Mexicans  being  dispersed 
into  others,  and  all  of  them  plentifully  supplied  with  provisions  during 
their  stay.”3  The  first  “palace”  described  by  Herrera  was  discovered  by 
Balboa  somewhere  in  the  present  Costa  Rica,  and  Comagre  has  gone  into 
history  as  its  proprietor.  “This  palace  was  more  remarkable  and  better 
built  than  any  that  had  been  yet  seen  on  the  islands,  or  the  little  that  was 
then  known  of  the  continent,  being  one  hundred  and  fifty  paces  in  length 
and  eighty  in  breadth,  founded  on  very  large  posts,  inclosed  by  a stone 
wall,  with  timber  intermixed  at  the  top,  and  hollow  spaces,  so  beautifull}r 
wrought  that  the  Spaniards  were  amazed  at  the  sight  of  it,  and  could  not 
express  the  manner  and  curiosity  of  it.  There  were  in  it  several  chambers 
and  apartments,  and  one  that  was  like  a buttery  and  full  of  such  provisions 
as  the  country  afforded,  as  bread,  venison,  swine’s  flesh,  &c.  There  was 
another  large  room  like  a cellar,  full  of  earthern  vessels,  containing  several 
sorts  of  white  and  red  liquors,  made  of  Indian  wheat,”4  etc.  The  notice- 
able fact  in  this  description  is  the  two  chambers,  containing  provisions  and 
stores  for  the  household,  which  was  undoubtedly  the  case  with  all  of  those 
named.  Zempoala,  near  Vera  Cruz,  is  described  as  “a  very  large  town, 
with  stately  buildings  of  good  timber  work,  and  every  house  had  a garden 
with  water,  so  that  it  looked  like  a terrestrial  paradise.  * * * The 

scouts,  advancing  on  horseback,  came  to  the  great  square  and  courts  where 
the  prime  houses  were,  which  having  been  lately  new  plastered  over,  were 


1 History  of  America,  ii,  325. 


2 lb.,  iii,  273. 


3 lb.,  iii,  273. 


* lb.,  ii,  297. 


MORGAN.] 


AZTEC  HOUSES  NOT  FULLY  DESCRIBED. 


231 


very  light,  the  Indians  being  extraordinary  expert  at  that  work”1  Herrera 
further  states  that  the  houses  were  built  of  “lime  and  stone.” 

These  pueblos  were  generally  small,  consisting  of  three  or  four  large 
joint-tenement  houses,  with  other  houses  smaller  in  size,  the  different  grades 
of  houses  representing  the  relative  thrift  and  prosperity  of  the  several 
groups  by  whom  they  were  owned  and  occupied.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
there  was  a single  pueblo  in  North  America,  with  the  exception  of  Tlascala, 
Cholula,  Tezcuco,  and  Mexico,  which  contained  ten  thousand  inhabitants. 
There  is  no  occasion  to  apply  the  term  “city”  to  any  of  them.  None  of 
he  Spanish  descriptions  enable  us  to  realize  the  exact  form  and  strnctnret 
of  these  houses,  or  their  relations  to  each  other  in  forming  a pueblo.  But 
for  the  pueblos,  occupied  or  in  ruins,  in  New  Mexico,  and  the  more  remark- 
able pueblos  in  ruins  in  Yucatan  and  Central  America,  we  would  know  very 
little  concerning  the  house  architecture  of  the  Sedentary  Village  Indians. 
It  is  evident  from  the  citations  made  that  the  largest  of  these  joint-tenement 
houses  would  accommodate  from  five  hundred  to  a thousand  or  more  people, 
living  in  the  fashion  of  Indians;  and  that  the  courts  were  probably  quad- 
rangles, formed  by  constructing  the  building  on  three  sides  of  an  inclosed 
space,  as  in  the  New  Mexican  pueblos,  or  upon  the  four  sides,  as  in  the 
House  of  the  Nuns,  at  Uxmal. 

The  writers  on  the  conquest  have  failed  to  describe  the  Aztec  house 
in  such  a manner  that  it  can  be  fairly  comprehended.  They  have  also  failed 
to  explain  the  mode  of  life  within  it.  But  it  can  safely  be  said  that  most  of 
these  houses  were  large,  far  beyond  any  supposable  wants  of  a single  Indian 
family;  that  they  were  constructed,  when  on  dry  land,  of  adobe  brick,  and 
when  in  the  water,  of  stone  imbedded  in  some  kind  of  mortar,  and  plastered 
over  in  both  cases  with  gypsum,  which  made  them  a brilliant  white.  Some 
also  were  constructed  of  a red  porous  stone.  Some  of  these  houses  were 
built  on  three  sides  of  a court,  like  those  on  the  Chaco,  but  the  court  opened 
on  a street  or  causeway.  Others  not  unlikely  surrounded  an  open  court  or 
quadrangle,  which  must  have  been  entered  through  a gateway;  but  this  is 
not  clearly  shown.  The  large  houses  were  probably  two  stories  high ; 
an  upper  and  a lower  floor  are  mentioned  in  some  cases,  but  rarely  a third. 


History  of  America,  ii,  211. 


232  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


Communism  in  living  in  large  households,  the  communism  being  confined 
to  the  household,  was  probably  the  rule  of  life  among  the  ancient  Mexicans 
at  the  time  of  the  Conquest.1 

Two  of  the  houses  in  Mexico  were  more  particularly  noted  by  the 
soldiers  of  Cortes  than  others — that  in  which  they  were  quartered,  and 
that  in  which  Montezuma  lived.  Neither  can  be  said  to  have  been  described. 
I shall  confine  myself  to  these  two  structures. 

Cortes  made  his  first  entry  into  Mexico  in  November,  1519,  with  four 
hundred  and  fifty  Spaniards,  according  to  Bernal  Diaz,2  accompanied  by  a 
thousand  Tlascalan  allies.  They  were  lodged  in  a vacant  palace  of  Monte- 
zuma’s late  father,  Diaz  naively  remarks,  observing  that  ‘‘the  whole  of  this 
palace  was  very  light,  airy,  clean,  and  pleasant,  the  entry  being  through  a 
great  court.”3  Cortes,  after  describing  his  reception,  informs  us  that  Monte- 
zuma “returned  along  the  street  in  the  order  already  described,  until  he 
reached  a very  large  and  splendid  palace  in  which  we  were  to  be  quartered. 
He  then  took  me  by  the  hand  and  led  me  into  a spacious  saloon,  in  front  of 
which  was  a court  through  which  we  had  entered.”4  So  much  for  the 
statements  of  two  eye-witnesses.  Herrera  gathered  some  additional  particu- 
lars. He  states  that  “they  came  to  a very  large  court,  which  was  the 
wardrobe  of  the  idols,  and  had  been  the  house  of  Axayacatzin,  Montezuma’s 
father.  * * * Being  lodged  in  so  large  a house,  that,  though  it  seems 

incredible,  contained  so  many  capacious  rooms,  with  bedchambers,  that  one 
hundred  and  fifty  Spaniards  could  till  lie  single.  It  was  also  worth  observ- 
ing that  though  the  house  was  so  big,  every -part  of  it  to  the  last  corner 
was  very  clean,  neat,  matted,  and  hung  with  hangings  of  cotton  and  feather 
work  of  several  colors,  and  had  beds  and  mats  with  pavilions  over  them. 
No  man  of  whatsoever  quality  having  any  other  sort  of  bed,  no  other  being 

1 My  learned  friend,  Mr.  Ad.  F.  Bandelier,  of  Highland,  111.,  has  arrived  at  the  same  conclusion, 
substantially,  as  stated  in  the  conclusion  of  his  recent  “Memoir  on  the  Social  Organization  and  Mode 
of  Government  of  the  Ancient  Mexicans,”  12th  Annual  Report  of  the  Peabody  Museum  of  American 
Archaeology  and  Ethnology.  Cambridge,  1880,  p.  699. 

“ Taking  all  this  together,  and  addingto  it  the  results  of  our  investigations  into  the  military  organ- 
ization of  the  ancient  Mexicans,  as  well  as  of  their  communal  mode  of  holding  and  enjoying  the  soil, 
we  feel  authorized  to  conclude  that  the  social  organization  and  mode  of  government  of  the  ancient  Mexicans 
was  a,  military  democracy,  originally  based  upon  communism  in  living. ” 

3 Diaz  Conquest  of  Mex.,  ed.  1803,  Keatinge’s  Trans.,  i,  181,  189.  Herrera  says,  300,  ii.  327. 

3Diaz,  I,  191. 

4 Dispatches  of  Cortes,  Folsom’s  Trans.,  p.  86. 


MORGAN.] 


JOINT  TENEMENT  HOUSES. 


283 


used”1  In  the  tidiness  of  these  rooms  we  gain  some  evidence  of  the  char- 
acter of  Aztec  women. 

Joint-tenement  houses,  and  the  mode  of  life  they  indicate,  were  at  this 
time  unknown  in  Europe.  They  belonged  to  a more  ancient  condition  of 
society.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  the  Spaniards,  astonished  at 
their  magnitude,  should  have  styled  them  palaces,  and  having  been  received 
with  a great  array  by  Montezuma,  as  the  general  commander  of  the  Aztec 
forces,  should  have  regarded  him  as  a king,  since  monarchical  government 
was  the  form  with  which  they  were  chiefly  acquainted.  Suffice,  it  then,  to  say 
that  one  of  the  great  houses  of  the  Aztecs  was  large  enough  to  accommodate 
Cortes  and  his  fourteen  hundred  and  fifty  men  including  Indian  allies  as  they 
had  previously  been  accommodated  in  one  Cholulan  house  and  elsewhere,  on 
the  way  to  Mexico.  From  New  Mexico  to  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  there  was 
scarcely  a principal  village  in  which  an  equal  number  could  not  have  found 
accommodations  in  a single  house.  When  it  is  found  to  be  unnecessary  to  call 
it  a palace  in  order  to  account  for  its  size,  we  are  led  to  the  conclusion  that 
an  ordinary  Aztec  house  was  emptied  of  its  inhabitants  to  make  room  for 
their  unwelcome  visitors.  After  their  reception,  Aztec  hospitality  supplied 
them  with  provisions.  Mr.  Bandelier  has,  in  the  article  above  referred  to, 
explained  this  house  in  a very  satisfactory  manner  as  “the  tecpan,  or 
official  house  of  the  tribe.”  He  says:  “The  house  where  the  Spaniards 
were  quartered  was  the  ‘tecpan,’  or  official  house  of  the  tribe,  vacated  by 
the  official  household  for  that  purpose.”  In  sallying  forth  to  greet  the  new- 
comers at  the  dike,  ‘ ‘ Wrath y chief  (Montezuma)  acted  simply  as  the 
representative  of  the  tribal  hospitality,  extending  unusual  courtesies  to 
unusual,  mysterious,  and  therefore  dreaded  guests.  Leaving  these  in  pos- 
session of  the  ‘tecpan,’  he  retired  to  another  of  the  large  communal  buildings 
surrounding  the  central  square,  where  the  official  business  was,  meanwhile, 
transacted  His  return  to  the  Spanish  quarters,  even  if  compulsory,  had 
less  in  it  to  strike  the  natives  than  is  commonly  believed  It  was  a re-in- 
stallation in  old  quarters,  and  therefore  the  ‘Tlatocan  (Council  of  Chiefs) 
itself  felt  no  hesitancy  in  meeting  there  again,  until  the  real  nature  of  the 
dangerous  visitors  was  ascertained,  when  the  council  gradually  withdrew 
from  the  snare,  leaving  the  unfortunate  ‘chief  of  men’  in  Spanish  hands.”2 


History  of  America,  ii,  330. 


2 12  Annual  Report  of  Peabody  Museum,  p.  680. 


234  iiouses  and  house-life  of  the  American  aborigines. 


We  are  next  to  consider  the  second  so-called  palace,  that  in  which 
Montezuma  lived,  and  the  dinner  of  Montezuma  which  these  soldiers  wit- 
nessed, and  which  has  gone  into  history  as  a part  of  the  evidence  that  a 
monarchy  of  the  feudal  type  existed  in  Mexico.  They  had  but  little  time 
to  make  their  observations,  for  this  imaginary  kingdom  perished  almost  im- 
mediately, and  the  people,  in  the  main,  dispersed.  The  so-called  palace  of 
Montezuma  is  not  described  by  Diaz,  for  the  reason,  probably,  that  there 
was  nothing  to  distinguish  it  from  a number  of  similar  structures  in  the 
pueblo.  Neither  is  it  described  by  Cortes  or  the  Anonymous  Conqueror; 
Cortes  merely  remarking  generally  that  “ within  the  city  his  palaces  were 
so  wonderful  that  it  is  hardly  possible  to  describe  their  beauty  and  extent; 
I can  only  say  that  in  Spain  there  is  nothing  equal  to  them.”1  Gothic 
cathedrals  were  then  standing  in  Spain,  the  Alhambra  in  Grenada,  and, 
without  doubt,  public  and  private  buildings  of  dressed  stone  laid  in  courses. 
While  the  comparison  was  mendacious,  we  can  understand  the  desire  of  the 
conqueror  to  magnify  his  exploits.  Herrera,  who  came  later  and  had  addi- 
tional resources,  remarks  that  the  palace  in  which  Montezuma  resided  “ had 
twenty  gates,  all  of  them  to  the  square  or  market-place,  and  the  principal 
streets,  and  three  spacious  courts,  and  in  one  of  them  a very  large  fountain. 
* * * There  were  many  halls  one  hundred  feet  in  length,  and  rooms  of 

twenty-five  and  thirty,  and  one  hundred  baths.  The  timber-work  was  small, 
without  nails,  but  very  line  and  strong,  which  the  Spaniards  much  admired. 
The  walls  were  of  marble,  jasper,  porphyry,  a black  sort  of  stone  with  red 
veins  like  blood,  white  stone,  and  another  sort  that  is  transparent.  The 
roofs  were  of  wood,  well  wrought  and  carved.  * * * The  rooms  were 

painted  and  matted,  and  many  of  them  had  rich  hangings  of  cotton  and 
coney  wool,  or  of  feather-work.  The  beds  were  not  answerable  to  the 
grandeur  of  the  house  and  furniture,  being  poor  and  wretched,  consisting 
of  blankets  upon  mats  or  on  hay.  * * * Few  men  lie  in  this  palace, 

but  there  were  one  thousand  women  in  it,  and  some  say  three  thousand, 
which  is  reckoned  most  likely.  * * * Montezuma  took  to  himself  the 

ladies  that  were  the  daughters  of  great  men,  being  many  in  number.”2 

The  external  walls  of  the  houses  were  covered  with  plaster.  From  the 


Despatches,  p.  121. 


-History  of  America,  ii,  345. 


MORGAN.] 


BANCROFT’S  VERSION. 


235 


description  it  seems  probable  that  in  the  interior  of  the  large  rooms  the 
natural  faces  of  the  stone  in  the  walls  were  seen  here  and  there,  some  of 
the  red  porous  stone,  some  of  marble,  and  some  resembling  porphyry,  for 
it  is  not  supposable  that  they  could  cut  this  stone  with  flint  implements. 
Large  stones  used  on  the  inner  faces  of  the  walls  might  have  been  left  un- 
covered, and  thus  have  presented  the  mottled  appearance  mentioned.  The 
Aztecs  had  no  structures  comparable  with  those  of  Yucatan.  Their  archi- 
tecture resembles  that  of  New  Mexico  wherever  its  features  distinctly  appear 
upon  evidence  that  can  be  trusted.  The  best  rooms  found  in  the  latter 
region  are  of  thin  pieces  of  sandstone  prepared  by  fracture  and  laid  up  with 
a uniform  face.  Herrera  had  no  occasion  to  speak  of  the  use  of  marble 
and  porphyry  in  the  walls  of  this  house  in  such  a vague  manner  and  upon 
more  vague  information.  The  reference  to  the  thousand  or  more  women  as 
forming  the  harem  of  Montezuma  is  a gross  libel. 

Mr.  Hubert  H.  Bancroft,  the  last  of  the  long  line  of  writers  who  have 
treated  the  affairs  of  the  Aztecs,  has  put  the  finishing  touch  to  this  picture 
in  the  following  language  : “The  principal  palace  of  the  king  of  Mexico 
was  an  irregular  pile  of  low  buildings  enormous  in  extent,  constructed  of 
huge  blocks  of  teteontli,  a kind  of  porous  stone  common  to  that  country, 
cemented  with  mortar.  The  arrangement  of  the  buildings  was  such  that 
they  enclosed  three  great  plazas  or  public  squares,  in  one  of  which  a beau- 
tiful fountain  incessantly  played.  Twenty  great  doors  opened  on  the  squares 
and  on  the  streets,  and  over  these  was  sculptured  in  stone  the  coat-of-arms  of 
the  king  of  Mexico,  an  eagle  griping  in  his  talons  a jaguar.  In  the  interior 
were  many  halls,  and  one  in  particular  is  said  by  a writer  who  accompanied 
Cortes,  known  as  the  Anonymous  Conqueror,  to  have  been  of  sufficient 
extent  to  contain  three  thousand  men.  * * * In  addition  to  these  were 

more  than  one  hundred  smaller  rooms,  and  the  same  number  of  marble  baths. 
* * * qqie  waqs  anq  floors  of  halls  and  apartments  were  many  of  them 

faced  with  polished  slabs  of  marble,  jasper,  obsidian,  and  white  tecali;  lofty 
columns  of  the  same  fine  stones  supported  marble  balconies  and  porticos, 
every  inch  and  corner  of  which  was  filled  with  wondrous  ornamental  carv- 
ing, or  held  a grinning,  grotesquely  sculptured  head.  The  beams  and  casings 
were  of  cedar,  cypress,  and  other  valuable  woods  profusely  carved  and  put 


236  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


together  without  nails.  * * * Superb  mats  of  most  exquisite  finish 

were  spread  upon  the  marble  floors;  the  tapestry  that  draped  the  walls  and 
the  curtains  that  hung  before  the  windows  were  made  of  a fabric  most  won- 
derful for  its  delicate  texture,  elegant  designs,  and  brilliant  colors  ; through 
the  halls  and  corridors  a thousand  golden  censers,  in  which  burned  precious 
spices  and  perfumes,  diffused  a subtle  odor.”1 

Upon  this  rhapsody  it  will  be  sufficient  to  remark  that  halls  were  en- 
tirely unknown  in  Indian  architecture.  Neither  a hall,  as  that  term  is  used 
by  us,  has  ever  been  seen  in  an  Indian  house,  nor  has  one  been  found  in 
the  ruins  of  any  Indian  structure.  An  external  corridor  has  occasionally 
been  found  in  ruins  of  houses  in  Central  America,  The  great  doors  open 
on  the  squares  and  streets;  aztec  window-curtains  of  delicate  texture, 
marble  baths  and  porticos,  and  floors  of  polished  slabs  of  marble,  as  fig- 
ments of  a troubled  imagination,  recall  the  glowing  description  of  the  great 
kingdom  of  the  Sandwich  Islands — with  its  king,  its  cabinet  ministers,  its 
parliament,  its  army  and  navy,  which  Mark  Twain  has  fitly  characterized 
as  “an  attempt  to  navigate  a sardine  dish  with  Great  Eastern  machinery”; 
and  it  suggested  also  the  Indian  chief  humorously  mentioned  by  Irving  as 
generously  “decked  out  in  cocked  hat  and  military  coat,  in  contrast  with 
his  breech  clout  and  leathern  leggins,  being  grand  officer  at  top  and  ragged 
Indian  at  bottom.”2  Whatever  may  be  said  by  credulous  and  enthusiastic 
authors  to  decorate  this  Indian  pueblo,  its  houses  and  its  breech-cloth 
people,  cannot  conceal  the  “ragged  Indian”  therein  by  dressing  him  in  a 
European  costume. 

On  the  seventh  day  after  the  entry  into  Mexico,  Montezuma  was 
induced  by  intimidation  to  leave  the  house  in  which  he  lived  and  take  up 
his  quarters  with  Cortes,  where  he  was  held  a prisoner  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  a few  weeks  later.  Whatever  was  seen  of  his  mode  of 
life  in  his  usual  place  of  residence  was  practically  limited  to  the  five  days 
between  the  toming  of  the  Spaniards  and  his  capture.  Our  knowledge  of 
the  facts  is  in  the  main  derived  from  what  these  soldiers  reported  upon 
slight  and  imperfect  means  of  observation.  Bernal  Diaz  and  Cortes  have 
left  us  an  extraordinary  description,  not  of  his  residence,  but  of  his  daily 

1 Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States,  ii,  160. 


J Bonneville,  p.  154. 


MORGAN.] 


THE  AZTEC  MKNEK. 


237 


life,  and  more  particularly  of  the  dinner,  which  will  now  be  considered.  It 
is  worth  the  attempt  to  take  up  the  pictures  of  these  and  succeeding 
authors,  and  see  whether  the  real  truth  of  the  matter  cannot  be  elicited 
from  their  own  statements.  There  was  undoubtedly  a basis  of  facts  under- 
neath them,  because  without  such  a basis  the  superstructure  could  not  have 
been  created. 

It  may  with  reason  be  supposed  that  the  Spaniards  found  Montezuma, 
with  his  gentile  kindred,  in  a large  joint-tenement  house,  containing  perhaps 
fifty  or  a hundred  families  united  in  a communal  household  The  dinner  they 
witnessed  was  the  single  daily  meal  of  this  household,  prepared  in  a com- 
mon cook-house  from  common  stores,  and  divided  at  the  kettle.  The  din- 
ner of  each  person  was  placed  in  an  earthern  bowl,  with  which  in  his  hand 
an  Indian  needed  neither  chair  nor  table,  and,  moreover,  had  neither  the 
one  nor  the  other.  The  men  ate  first;  and  by  themselves,  Indian  fashion ; 
and  the  women,  of  whom  only  a few  were  seen,  afterwards  and  by  them- 
selves. On  this  hypothesis  the  dinner  in  question  is  susceptible  of  a satis- 
factory explanation 

It  has  been  shown  that  each  Aztec  community  of  persons  owned  lands 
in  common,  from  which  they  derived  their  support.  Their  mode  of  tillage 
and  of  distribution  of  the  products,  whatever  it  may  have  been,  would 
have  returned  to  each  family  or  household,  large  or  small,  its  rightful  share. 
Communism  in  living  in  large  households  composed  of  related  families 
springs  naturally  from  such  a soil.  It  may  be  considered  a law  of  their 
condition,  and,  plainly  enough,  the  most  economical  mode  of  life  they 
could  adopt  until  the  idea  of  property  had  been  sufficiently  developed  in 
their  minds  to  lead  to  the  division  of  lands  among  individuals  with  owner- 
ship in  fee,  and  power  of  alienation.  Their  social  system,  which  tended  to 
unite  kindred  families  in  a common  household,  their  ownership  of  lands  in 
common,  and  their  ownership,  as  a group,  of  a joint-tenement  house,  which 
would  necessarily  follow,  would  not  admit  a right  in  persons  to  sell,  and 
thus  to  introduce  strangers  into  the  ownership  of  such  lands  or  such  houses. 
Lands  and  houses  were  owned  and  held  under  a common  system  which 
entered  into  their  plan  of  life.  The  idea  of  property  was  forming  in  their 
minds,  but  it  was  still  in  that  immature  state  which  pertains  to  the  Middle 


238  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


Status  of  barbarism.  They  bad  no  money,  but  traded  by  barter  of  com- 
modities ; very  little  personal  property,  and  scarcely  anything1  of  value  to 
Europeans.  They  were  still  a breech-cloth  people,  wearing  this  rag  of 
barbarism  as  the  unmistakable  evidence  of  their  condition ; and  the  family 
was  in  the  syndyasmian  or  pairing  form,  with  separation  at  any  moment  at 
the  option  of  either  party.  It  was  the  weakness  of  the  family,  its  inability 
to  face  alone  the  struggle  of  life,  which  led  to  the  construction  of  joint- 
tenement  houses  throughout  North  and  South  America  by  the  Indian  tribes; 
and  it  was  the  gentile  organization  which  led  them  to  fill  these  houses,  on 
the  principle  of  kin,  with  related  families 

In  a pueblo  as  large  as  that  of  Mexico,  which  was  the  largest  found  in 
America,  and  may  possibly  have  contained  thirty  thousand  inhabitants, 
there  must  have  been  a number  of  large  communal  houses  of  different 
sizes,  from  those  that  were  called  palaces,  because  of  their  size,  to  those 
filled  by  a few  families.  Degrees  of  prosperity  are  shown  in  barbarous  as 
well  as  in  civilized  life  in  the  quarters  of  the  people.  Herrera  states  that 
the  houses  of  the  poorer  sort  of  people  were  “ small,  low,  and  mean,”  but 
that,  “ as  small  as  the  houses  were,  they  commonly  contained  two,  four,  and 
six  families.”1  Wherever  a household  is  found  in  Indian  life,  be  the  mar- 
ried pairs  composing  it  few  or  many,  that  household  practiced  communism 
in  living.  In  the  largest  of  these  houses  it  would  not  follow  necessarily 
that  all  its  inmates  lived  from  common  stores,  because  they  might  form 
several  household  groups  in  the  same  house;  but  in  the  large  household  of 
which  Montezuma  was  a member,  it  is  plain  that  it  was  fed  from  common 
stores  prepared  in  a common  cook-house,  and  divided  from  the  kettle  in 
earthen  bowls,  each  containing  the  dinner  of  a single  person.  Montezuma 
was  supposed  to  be  absolute  master  of  Mexico,  and  what  they  saw  at  this 
dinner  was  interpreted  with  exclusive  reference  to  him  as  the  central  figure. 
The  result  is  remarkably  grotesque.  It  was  their  own  self-deception,  with- 
out any  assistance  from  the  Aztecs.  The  accounts  given  by  Diaz  and 
Cortes,  and  which  subsequent  writers  have  built  upon  with  glowing  enthu- 
siasm and  free  additions,  is  simply  the  gossip  of  a camp  of  soldiers  sud- 
denly cast  into  an  earlier  form  of  society,  which  the  Village  Indians  of 


1 History  of  America,  ii,  360. 


MORGAN.] 


FIRST  DINNER  WITNESSED  BY  THE  SPANIARDS. 


239 


America,  of  all  mankind,  then  best  represented.  That  they  could  under- 
stand it  was  not  to  have  been  expected.  Accustomed  to  monarchy  and  to 
privileged  classes,  the  principal  Aztec  war-chief  seemed  to  them  quite  nat- 
urally a king,  and  sachems  and  chiefs  followed  in  their  vision  as  princes 
and  lords.  But  that  they  should  have  remained  in  history  as  such  for  three 
centuries  is  an  amusing  commentary  upon  the  value  of  historical  writings 
in  general. 

The  dinner  of  Montezuma,  witnessed  within  the  five  days  named  by 
the  Spanish  soldiers,  comes  down  to  us  with  a slender  proportion  of  reliable 
facts.  The  accounts  of  Bernal  Diaz  and  of  Cortes  form  the  basis  of  all 
subsequent  descriptions.1  Montezuma  was  the  central  figure  around  whom 
all  the  others  are  made  to  move.  A number  of  men,  as  Diaz  states,  were 
to  be  seen  in  the  house  and  in  the  courts,  going  to  and  fro,  a part  of  whom 
were  thought  to  be  chiefs  in  attendance  upon  Montezuma,  and  the  remain- 
der were  supposed  to  be  guards.  Better  proof  of  the  use  of  guards  is 
needed  than  the  suggestion  of  Diaz.  It  implies  a knowledge  of  military 
discipline  unknown  by  Indian  tribes.  It  was  noticed  that  Indians  went 
barefooted  into  the  presence  of  Montezuma,  which  was  interpreted  as  an 
act  of  servility  and  deference,  although  bare  feet  must  have  been  the  rule 
rather  than  the  exception  in  Tenochtitlan.  Diaz  further  informs  us  that 
“his  cooks  had  upwards  of  thirty  different  ways  of  dressing  meats,  and 
they  had  earthen  vessels  so  contrived  as  to  keep  them  always  hot.  For  the 
table  of  Montezuma  himself  above  three  hundred  dishes  were  dressed,  and 
for  his  guards  above  a thousand.  Before  dinner  Montezuma  would  go  out 
and  inspect  the  preparations,  and  his  officers  wonld  point  out  to  him  which 
were  the  best,  and  explain  of  what  birds  and  flesh  they  were  composed ; 
and  of  these  he  would  eat.  * * * Montezuma  was  seated  on  a low 

throne  or  chair  at  a table  proportionate  to  the  height  of  his  seat.  The 
table  was  covered  with  white  cloth  and  napkins,  and  four  beautiful  women 
presented  him  with  water  for  his  hands  in  vessels  which  they  called  xicales, 
with  other  vessels  under  them  like  plates  to  catch  the  water;  they  also 
presented  him  with  towels.  Then  two  other  women  brought  him  small 
cakes  of  bread,  and  when  the  king  began  to  eat,  a large  screen  of  wood- 


Tbe  Anonymous  Conqueror  does  not  notice  it. 


240  HOUSES  AND  nOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


gilt  was  placed  before  him.  so  that  people  should  not  during  that  time  see 
him.  The  women  having  retired  to  a little  distance,  four  ancient  lords 
stood  by  the  throne,  to  whom  Montezuma  from  time  to  time  spoke  or 
addressed  questions,  and  as  a.  matter  of  particular  favor  gave  to  each  of 
them  a plate  of  that  which  he  was  eating.  * * * This  was  served 

on  earthenware  of  Cholula,  red  and  black.  * * * I observed  a num- 

ber of  jars,  about  fifty,  brought  in  filled  with  foaming  chocolate,  of  which 
he  took  some  which  the  women  presented  to  him.  During  the  time  Monte- 
zuma was  at  dinner,  two  very  beautiful  women  were  busily  employed 
making  small  cakes,  with  eggs  and  other  things  mixed  therein.  These  were 
delicately  white,  and  when  made  they  presented  them  to  him  on  plates 
covered  with  napkins.  Also  another  kind  of  bread  was  brought  to  him  in 
long  loaves,  and  plates  of  cakes  resembling  wafers.  After  he  had  dined 
they  presented  to  him  three  little  canes,  highly  ornamented,  containing 
liquid  amber  mixed  with  an  herb  they  call  tobacco;  and  when  he  had  suf- 
ficiently viewed  the  singers,  dancers,  and  buffoons,  he  took  a little  of  the 
smoke  of  one  of  these  canes  and  then  laid  himself  down  to  sleep ; and  thus 
his  principal  meal  concluded.  After  this  was  over,  all  his  guards  and 
domestics  sat  down  to  dinner,  and  as  near  as  I can  judge,  above  a thousand 
plates  of  these  eatables  that  I have  mentioned  were  laid  before  them,  with 
vessels  of  foaming  chocolate,  and  fruit  in  immense  quantity.  For  his 
women  and  various  inferior  servants,  his  establishment  was  a prodigious 
expense,  and  we  were  astonished,  amid  such  a profusion,  at  the  vast  regu- 
larity that  prevailed.”1  Diaz  wrote  his  history  more  than  thirty  years  after 
the  conquest  (he  says  he  was  writing  it  in  1508), 2 which  may  serve  to 
excuse  him  for  implying  the  use  of  veritable  chairs  and  a table  where 
neither  existed,  and  for  describing1  the  remainder  as  sitting  down  to  dinner. 
Tezozomoc,  who  is  followed  by  Herrera,  says- the  table  of  Montezuma  con- 
sisted of  two  skins.  How  they  were  fastened  together  and  supported  does 
uot  appear. 

The  statements  in  the  Despatches  of  Cortes,  as  they  now  appear,  are 
an  improvement  upon  Diaz,  the  pitch  being  on  a higher  key.  He  remarks 
that  Montezuma  “was  served  in  the  following  manner:  Every  day,  as  soon 


History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico,  i,  198-202. 


-lb.,  ii,  423. 


MORGAN.] 


THE  ACCOUNT  OF  BERNAL  DIAZ. 


241 


as  it  was  light,  six  hundred  nobles  and  men  of  rank  were  in  attendance  at 
the  palace,  who  either  sat  or  walked  about  in  the  halls  and  galleries,  and 
passed  their  time  in  conversation,  but  without  entering  the  apartment  where 
his  person  was.  The  servants  and  attendants  of  these  nobles  remained  in 
the  court-yards,  of  which  there  were  two  or  three  of  great  extent,  and  in 
the  adjoining  street,  which  was  also  very  spacious.  They  all  remained  in 
attendance  from  morning  till  night;  and  when  his  meals  were  served,  the 
nobles  were  likewise  served  with  equal  profusion,  and  their  servants  and 
secretaries  also  had  their  allowance.  Daily  his  larder  and  wine-cellar  were 
open  to  all  who  wished  to  eat  or  drink.  The  meals  were  served  by  three 
or  four  hundred  youths,  who  brought  in  an  infinite  number  of  dishes; 
indeed,  whenever  he  dined  or  supped  the  table  was  loaded  with  every  kind 
of  flesh,  fish,  fruits  and  vegetables  that  the  country  produced.  As  the 
climate  is  cold,  they  put  a chafing-dish  with  live  coals  under  every  plate 
and  dish,  to  keep  them  warm.  The  meals  were  served  in  a large  hall  in 
which  Montezuma  was  accustomed  to  eat,  and  the  dishes  quite  filled  the 
room,  which  was  covered  with  mats  and  kept  very  clean.  He  sat  on  a 
small  cushion,  curiously  wrought  of  leather.  During  the  meal  there  were 
present,  at  a little  distance  from  him,  five  or  six  elderly  caciques,  to  whom 
he  presented  some  of  the  food.  And  there  was  constantly  in  attendance  one 
of  the  servants,  who  arranged  and  handed  the  dishes,  and  who  received 
from  others  whatever  was  wanted  for  the  supply  of  the  table.  Both  at  the 
beginning  and  end  of  every  meal,  they  furnished  water  for  the  hands;  and 
the  napkins  used  on  these  occasions  were  never  used  a second  time,  and  this 
was  the  case  also  with  the  plates  and  dishes,  which  were  not  brought  again, 
but  new  ones  in  place  of  them;  it  was  the  same  with  the  chafing-dishes.”1 

Since  cursive  writing  was  unknown  among  the  Aztecs,  the  presence  of 
these  secretaries  is  an  amusing  feature  in  the  account.  The  wine-cellar  also 
is  remarkable  for  two  reasons;  firstly,  because  the  level  of  the  streets  and 
courts  was  but  four  feet  above  the  level  of  the  water,  which  made  cellars 
impossible;  and,  secondly,  because  the  Aztecs  had  no  knowledge  of  wine. 
An  acid  beer  (pulque),  made  by  fermenting  the  juice  of  the  maguey,  was  a 
common  beverage  of  the  Aztecs;  but  it  is  hardly  supposable  that  even  this 


16 


Despatches  of  Cortes,  Folsom’s  Trans.,  p.  123. 


242  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


was  used  at  dinner.  It  will  be  noticed  that  according  to  this  account  the 
dinner  was  served  to  all  at  the  same  time,  Montezuma  and  several  chiefs 
eating  at  one  end  of  the  room,  but  no  mention  is  made  of  the  manner  in  which 
the  remainder  ate.  The  six  hundred  men  (or  less)  who  remained  about  the 
house  and  courts  during  the  day,  we  may  well  suppose,  were,  with  their 
families,  joint  residents  and  joint  proprietors  with  Montezuma  of  the  estab- 
lishment. Two  or  three  structures  are  mingled  in  these  descriptions,  which 
were  probably  entirely  distinct  in  their  uses. 

Herrera  gathered  up  the  subsequent  growth  of  the  story,  which 
undoubtedly  made  a great  sensation  in  Europe  as  a part  of  the  picture  of 
life  in  the  New  World;  and  embellished  it  from  sheer  delight  in  a marvel- 
ous tale.  The  few  facts  stated  by  Bernal  Diaz,  expressing  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  Spanish  soldiers,  were  fruitful  seeds  planted  three  hundred 
years  ago,  which  the  imaginations  of  enthusiastic  authors  have  developed 
into  a glowing  and  picturesque  narrative.  The  principal  part  of  Herrera’s 
account  runs  as  follows:  “Montezuma  did  always  eat  alone,  and  so  great  a 
quantity  of  meat  was  served  up  to  his  table,  such  great  variety,  and  so  richly 
dressed,  that  there  was  sufficient  for  all  the  prime  men  of  his  household. 
His  table  was  a cushion,  or  two  pieces  of  colored  leather;  instead  of  a chair, 
a little  low  stool,  made  of  one  piece,  the  seat  hollowed  out,  carved  and 
painted  in  the  best  manner  that  could  be;  the  table-cloth,  napkins,  and 
towels  of  very  line  cotton  as  white  as  snow,  and  never  served  any  more 
than  once,  being  the  fees  of  the  proper  officers.  The  meat  was  brought  in 
by  four  hundred  pages,  all  gentlemen,  sons  of  lords,  and  set  down  together 
in  a hall;  the  king  went  thither,  and  with  a rod,  or  his  hand,  pointed  to 
what  he  liked,  and  then  the  sewer  set  it  upon  the  chafing-dishes  that  it  might 
not  be  cold;  and  this  he  never  failed  to  do,  unless  the  steward  at  any  time 
very  much  recommended  to  him  some  particular  dishes.  Before  he  sat 
down,  twenty  of  the  most  beautiful  women  came  and  brought  him  water 
to  wash  his  hands,  and  when  seated  the  sewer  did  shut  a wooded  rail  that 
divided  the  room,  lest  the  nobility  that  went  to  see  him  dine  should  encum- 
ber the  table,  and  lie  alone  set  on  and  took  off  the  dishes,  for  the  pages 
neither  came  near  nor  spoke  a word.  Strict  silence  was  observed,  none 
daring  to  speak  unless  it  was  some  jester,  or  the  person  of  whom  lie  asked 


MOKGAX.] 


THE  ACCOUNT  OF  HERRERA. 


243 

a question.  The  sewer  was  always  upon  his  knees  and  barefooted,  attending 
him  without  lifting  up  his  eyes.  No  man  with  shoes  on  was  to  come  into  the 
room  upon  pain  of  death.  The  sewer  also  gave  him  drink  in  a cup  of  several 
shapes,  sometimes  of  gold,  and  sometimes  of  silver,  sometimes  of  gourd, 
and  sometimes  of  the  shells  of  fishes.1  Six  ancient  lords  attended  at  a dis- 
tance,, to  whom  he  gave  some  dishes  of  what  he  liked  best,  which  they  did 
eat  there  with  much  respect.  He  had  always  music  of  flutes,  reeds,  horns, 
shells,  kettle-drums,  and  other  instruments,  nothing  agreeable  to  the  ears  of 
the  Spaniards.  * * * There  were  always  at  dinner  dwarfs,  crooked 

and  other  deformed  persons,  to  provoke  laughter,  and  they  did  eat  of  what 
was  left  at  the  further  end  of  the  hall,  with  the  jesters  and  buffoons.  What 
remained  was  given  to  three  thousand  Indians,  that  were  constantly  upon 
guard  in  the  courts  and  squares,  and  therefore  there  were  always  three 
thousand  dishes  of  meat  and  as  many  cups  of  liquor;  the  larder  and  cellar 
were  never  shut,  by  reason  of  their  continual  carrying  in  and  out.  In  the 
kitchen  they  dressed  all  sorts  of  meat  that  were  sold  in  the  market,  being  a 
prodigious  quantity,  besides  what  was  brought  in  by  hunters,  tenants,  and 
tributaries.  The  dishes  and  all  utensils  were  all  of  good  earthenware,  and 
served  the  king  but  once.  He  had  abundance  of  vessels  of  gold  and  silver, 
yet  made  no  use  of  them,  because  they  should  not  serve  twice.”2 

Further  on,  and  out  of  its  place,  Herrera  gives  us  what  seems  to  have 
been  a call  of  the  scattered  household  to  dinner  “When  it  was  dinner- 
time,” he  remarks,  “eight  or  ten  men  whistled  very  loud,  beating  the  kettle- 
drums hard,  as  it  were  to  warn  those  that  were  to  dance  after  dinner;  then 
the  dancers  came,  who,  to  entertain  their  great  sovereign,  were  all  to  be 
men  of  quality,  clad  as  richly  as  they  could,  with  costly  mantles,  white, 
red,  green,  yellow,  and  some  of  several  colors.”3 

The  four  women  of  Diaz  who  brought  water  to  Montezuma  have  now 
increased  to  twenty;  but,  as  the  Spanish  writers  claimed  a wide  latitude  in 
the  matter  of  numbers,  fivefold  is  not,  perhaps,  unreasonable,  especially  as 

1 Solis,  thinking  a cocoauut  shell  altogether  too  plain,  embellishes  the  shell  with  jewels:  “He 

had  cups  of  gold,  and  salvers  of  the  same ; and  sometimes  he  drank  out  of  cocoas  and  natural  shells 
very  richly  set  with  jewels.” — History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico,  Lond.,  ed.  1738,  Townshend’s 
Trans.,  I,  417. 

3 History  of  America,  ii,  336. 


3 lb.,  443. 


244  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


it  did  not  occur  to  Herrera  that  Diaz  may,  at  the  outset,  have  quadrupled 
the  actual  number.  The  “three  or  four  hundred  youths”  who  brought  in 
the  dinner,  according  to  Cortes,  settle  down  under  Herrera  to  “four  hun- 
dred pages,  all  gentlemen,  sons  of  lords”;  and  here  we  must  recognize  the 
discrimination  of  the  historian  in  that  he  found  the  highest  number  stated 
by  Cortes  fully  adequate  to  the  occasion.  Two  other  things  may  be  noticed: 
shoes  have  disappeared  from  all  Indian  feet  in  the  face  of  a terrific  penalty, 
and  three  thousand  hungry  Indians  stand  in  peaceful  quietude,  while  their 
dinner  grows  cold  upon  the  floor,  as  Montezuma  eats  alone  in  solitary 
grandeur.  No  American  Indian  could  be  made  to  comprehend  this  picture. 
It  lacks  the  realism  of  Indian  life,  and  embodies  an  amount  of  puerility  of 
which  the  Indian  nature  is  not  susceptible.  Europeans  and  Americans  may 
rise  to  the  height  of  the  occasion  because  their  mental  range  is  wider,  and 
their  imaginations  have  fed  more  deeply  upon  nursery  tales.  Diaz  had 
contented  himself  with  saying  that  Montezuma  “ had  two  hundred  of  his 
nobility  on  guard  in  apartments  adjoining  his  own,”1  in  whom  may  be  recog- 
nized his  fellow  householders:  but  Cortes  generously  increased  the  number 
to  “six  hundred  nobles  and  men  of  rank,”  who  appeared  at  daylight  and 
remained  in  attendance  during  the  day.  Neither  number,  however,  was 
quite  sufficient  to  meet  the  conceptions  of  the  historiographer  of  Spain,  and 
accordingly  three  thousand,  all  guards,  were  adopted  by  Herrera  as  a suit- 
able number  to  give  eclat  to  Montezuma’s  dinner.  If  any  man  conversant 
with  Indian  character  could  show  by  what  instrumentality  five  hundred 
Indians  could  be  kept  together  twelve  hours  in  attendance  upon  any  human 
being  from  a sense  of  duty,  lie  would  add  something  to  our  knowledge  of 
the  lied  Race;  and  could  he  prove  further  that  they  had  actually  waited, 
in  the  presence  of  as  many  earthen  bowls,  smoking  with  their  several  din- 
ners, while  their  war-chief  in  the  same  room  was  making  his  repast  alone, 
the  verifier  would  thereby  endow  the  Indian  character  with  an  element  of 
forbearance  he  has  never  since  been  known  to  display.  The  block  of  wood 
hollowed  out  for  a stool  or  seat  may  be  accepted,  for  it  savors  of  the  sim- 
plicity of  Indian  art.  That  the  Aztecs  had  napkins  of  coarse  texture,  woven 
by  hand,  is  probable;  as  also  that  they  were  white,  because  cotton  is  white. 


History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico,  1,  198. 


MORGAN.! 


THE  ACCOUNT  OF  H.  H.  BANCROFT. 


245 


Imagination  might  easily  expand  a napkin  into  a table-cloth,  provided  a 
table  existed  to  spread  it  upon;  but  in  this  case,  without  duly  considering 
the  relation  between  the  two,  the  table-cloth  has  been  created,  but  the  table 
refuses  to  appear.  The  napkin  business,  therefore,  seems  to  have  been 
slightly  overdone.  Finally,  the  call  of  the  scattered  household  to  dinner 
by  kettle-drums  and  whistling  savors  too  strongly  of  Indian  ways  and 
usages  to  be  diverted  into  a summons  to  the  dancers,  as  Herrera  suggests. 
This  Aztec  dinner-call,  on  a scale  commensurate  with  a large  communal 
household,  would  have  been  lost  to  history  but  for  the  special  use  discerned 
in  it  to  decorate  a tale.  It  recognizes  the  loitering-  habits  of  an  Aztec  house- 
hold,  and  perhaps  the  irregularity  of  the  dinner-hour. 

Passing  over  the  descriptions  of  Sahagun,  Clavigero,  and  Prescott, 
who  have  kindled  into  enthusiasm  over  this  dinner  of  Montezuma,  Mr. 
Hubert  H.  Bancroft  shall  be  allowed  to  furnish  us  with  the  very  latest 
version.  “ Every  day,”  he  remarks,  “from  sunrise  until  sunset  the  ante- 
chambers of  Montezuma’s  palace  in  Mexico  were  occupied  by  six  hundred 
noblemen  and  gentlemen,  who  passed  their  time  lounging  about  and  dis- 
cussing the  gossip  of  the  day  in  low  tones,  for  it  was  considered  disre- 
spectful to  speak  loudly  or  make  any  noise  within  the  palace  limits.  They 
were  provided  with  apartments  in  the  palace,  and  took  their  meals  from 
what  remained  of  the  superabundance  of  the  royal  table,  as  did  after  them 
their  own  servants,  of  whom  each  person  of  quality  was  entitled  to  from 
one  to  thirty  according  to  his  rank.  These  retainers,  numbering  two  or 
three  thousand,  filled  several  outer  courts  during  the  day.  The  king  took 
his  meals  alone  in  one  of  the  largest  halls  of  the  palace.  * * * He 

was  seated  upon  a low  leather  cushion,  upon  which  were  thrown  various 
soft  skins,  and  his  table  was  of  a similar  description,  except  that  it  was 
larger  and  rather  higher,  and  was  covered  with  white  cotton  cloths  of 
the  finest  texture.  The  dinner-service  was  of  the  finest  ware  of  Cholula, 
and  many  of  the  goblets  were  of  gold  and  silver,  or  fashioned  with  beauti- 
ful shells.  He  is  said  to  have  possessed  a complete  service  of  solid  gold, 
but  as  it  was  considered  below  a king’s  dignity  to  use  anything  at  table 
twice,  Montezuma,  with  all  his  extravagance,  was  obliged  to  keep  this  costly 
dinner-set  in  the  temple.  The  bill  of  fare  comprised  everything  edible  of 


24G  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


fish,  flesh,  and  fowl  that  could  he  procured  in  the  empire  or  imported 
beyond  it.  Relays  of  couriers  were  employed  in  bringing  delicacies  from 
afar.  * * * There  were  cunning  cooks  among  the  Aztecs,  and  at  these 

extravagant  meals  there  was  almost  as  much  variety  in  the  cookery  as  in 
the  matter  cooked.  Sahagun  gives  a most  formidable  list  of  roast,  stewed, 
and  broiled  dishes,  of  meat,  fish,  and  poultry,  seasoned  with  many  kinds  of 
herbs,  of  which,  however,  that  most  frequently  mentioned  is  chile.  He 
further  describes  many  kinds  of  bread,  all  bearing  a more  or  less  close 
resemblance  to  the  Mexican  tortilla,  * * * then  tamales  of  all  kinds, 

and  many  other  curious  messes,  such  as  frog  spawn  and  stewed  ants,  cooked 
with  chile.  * * * Each  dish  was  kept  warm  on  a chafing-dish  placed 

under  it.  Writers  do  not  agree  as  to  the  exact  quantity  of  food  served  up 
at  each  meal,  but  it  must  have  been  immense,  since  the  lowest  number  of 
dishes  given  is  three  hundred  and  the  highest  three  thousand  Thev  were 
brought  into  the  hall  by  four  hundred  pages  of  noble  birth,  who  placed 
their  burdens  upon  the  matted  floor  and  retired  noiselessly.  The  king  then 
pointed  out  such  viands  as  he  wished  to  partake  of,  or  left  the  selection  to 
his  steward,  who  doubtless  took  pains  to  study  the  likes  and  dislikes  of  the 
royal  palate.  The  steward  was  a functionary  of  the  highest  rank  and  im- 
portance; he  alone  was  privileged  to  place  the  designated  delicacies  before 
the  king  upon  the  table;  he  appears  to  have  done  duty  both  as  royal  carver 
and  cup-bearer;1  and,  according  to  Torquemada,  to  have  done  it  bare- 
footed and  on  his  knees.  Everything  being  in  readiness,  a number  of  the 
most  beautiful  of  the  king’s  women  entered,  bearing  water  in  round  vessels 
called  Xicales,  for  the  king  to  wash  his  hands  in,  and  towels  that  he  might 
dry  them,  other  vessels  being  placed  upon  the  ground  to  catch  the  drip- 
pings. Two  other  women  at  the  same  time  brought  him  some  small  loaves 
of  a very  delicate  kind  of  bread,  made  of  the  finest  maize  flour,  beaten  up 
with  eggs.  This  done,  a wooden  screen,  carved  and  gilt,  was  placed  before 
him  that  no  one  might  see  him  while  eating.  There  were  always  present 
five  or  six  aged  lords,  who  stood  near  the  royal  chair  barefooted  and  with 
bowed  heads.  To  these,  as  a special  mark  of  favor,  the  king  occasionally 
sent  a choice  morsel  from  his  own  plate.  During  the  meal  the  monarch 


1 Tliu  “cup-bearer”  agrees  reasonably  well  with  the  “ wimlow-curtains. 


MORGAN.] 


A MESS  OF  TRASH. 


247 


amused  himself  by  watching  the  performances  of  his  jugglers  and  tum- 
blers, whose  marvellous  feats  of  strength  and  dexterity  I shall  describe  in 
another  place;  at  other  times  there  was  dancing,  accompanied  by  singing 
and  music.  * * * The  more  solid  food  was  followed  by  pastry,  sweet- 

meats, and  a magnificent  dessert  of  fruit.  The  only  beverage  drank  was 
chocolate,  of  which  about  fifty  jars  were  provided;  it  was  taken  with  a 
spoon,  finely  wrought  of  gold  or  shell,  from  a goblet  of  the  same  material 
Having  finished  his  dinner,  the  king  again  washed  his  hands  in  water  brought 
to  him,  as  before,  by  the  women  After  this,  several  painted  and  gilt  pipes 
were  brought,  from  which  he  inhaled,  through  his  mouth  or  nose,  as  best 
suited  him,  the  smoke  of  a mixture  of  liquid  amber  and  an  herb  called 
tobacco.  This  siesta  over,  he  devoted  himself  to  business,  and  proceeded 
to  give  audience  to  foreign  ambassadors  or  deputations  from  cities  in  the 
empire,  and  to  such  of  his  lords  and  ministers  as  had  business  to  transact 
with  him.”1 

In  this  account,  although  founded  upon  those  of  Diaz  and  Cortes,  and 
showing  nothing  essentially  new,  we  have  the  final  growth  of  the  story  to 
the  present  time,  but  without  any  assurance  that  the  limits  of  its  possible 
expansion  have  been  reached.  The  purification  of  our  aboriginal  history, 
by  casting  out  the  mass  of  trash  with  which  it  is  so  heavily  freighted,  is  forced 
upon  us  to  save  American  intelligence  from  deserved  disgrace.  Whatever 
may  be  said  of  the  American  aborigines  in  general,  or  of  the  Aztecs  in 
particular,  they  were  endowed  with  common  sense  in  the  matter  of  their 
daily  food,  which  cost  them  labor,  forethought,  and  care  to  provide.  The 
picture  of  Indian  life  here  presented  is  simply  impossible.  Village  Indians 
in  the  Middle  Status  of  barbarism  were  below  the  age  of  tables  and  chairs 
for  dinner  service;  neither  had  they  learned  to  arrange  a dinner  to  be  eaten 
socially  at  a common  table,  or  even  to  share  their  dinner  with  their  wives 
and  children.  Their  joint-tenement  houses,  their  common  stores,  their  com- 
munism in  living,  and  the  separation  of  the  sexes  at  their  meals,  are  genuine 
Indian  customs  and  usages  which  explain  this  dinner.  It  was  misconceived 
by  the  Spaniards  quite  naturally,  and  with  the  grotesque  results  herein 


Native  Eaces  of  the  Pacific  States,  ii,  174-178. 


248  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


presented;  but  there  is  no  excuse  for  continuing  this  misconception  in  the 
presence  of  known  facts  accessible  to  all. 

There  is  no  doubt  whatever  that  Montezuma  was  treated  with  great 
consideration  by  all  classes  of  persons.  Indians  respect  and  venerate  their 
chiefs.  As  their  principal  war-chief,  Montezuma  held  the  highest  official 
position  among  them.  lie  is  represented  as  amiable,  generous,  and  manly, 
although  unnerved  by  the  sudden  appearance  and  the  novel  and  deadly  arms 
of  the  Spaniards.  He  had  charge  of  the  reception  and  entertainment  of 
Cortes  and  his  men,  who  requited  him  savagely  for  his  hospitality  and 
kindness.  But  when  his  home-life  is  considered,  he  fared  no  better  than 
his  fellow-householders,  sharing  with  them  their  common  dinner.  These 
accounts,  when  divested  of  their  misconceptions,  render  it  probable  that 
Montezuma  was  living  with  his  gentle  kinsmen  in  a house  they  owned  in 
common;  and  that  what  the  Spaniards  saw  was  a dinner  in  common  by  this 
household,  which,  with  the  women  and  children,  may  have  numbered  from 
five  hundred  to  a thousand  persons.  When  the  scattered  members  of  the 
household  had  been  summoned,  the  single  daily  meal  was  brought  in  by  a 
number  of  persons  from  the  common  cook-house  in  earthen  bowls  and  dishes, 
and  set  down  upon  the  floor  of  an  apartment  used  as  a place  for  dinner  in 
the  fashion  of  Indians.  Indians  as  they  were,  they  doubtless  took  up  these 
bowls  one  by  one,  each  containing  the  dinner  of  one  person  divided  at  the 
kettle.  They  ate  standing,  or  it  may  be  sitting  upon  the  floor,  or  upon  the 
ground  in  the  open  court.  Indians  as  they  were,  the  men  ate  first  and  by 
themselves,  and  the  women  and  children  afterwards.  After  dinner  was 
over,  they  were  diverted,  probably,  with  music  and  dancing,  and  made 
themselves  merry,  as  well-fed  Indians  are  apt  to  do.  That  the  same  dinner, 
conducted  in  a similar  manner,  occurred  at  all  the  houses  in  the  pueblo, 
large  and  small,  once  a day,  there  can  scarcely  be  a doubt 

The  dinner  of  Montezuma  which  has  gone  into  history,  and  been  read 
for  three  centuries  with  wonder  and  admiration,  is  an  excellent  illustration 
of  the  slender  material  out  of  which  American  aboriginal  history  has  been 
made.  It  shows,  moreover,  as  a warning,  what  results  flow  from  great  mis- 
conceptions through  the  constructive  faculty  of  authors. 

A confederacy  of  three  Indian  tribes,  speaking  dialects  of  the  same 


MORGAN.] 


GENTES  OR  CLANS  OF  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


249 


language,  was  precisely  what  the  Spaniards  found  in  Mexico,  and  this  was 
all  they  found.  They  had  no  occasion  in  their  accounts  to  advance  a step 
beyond  this  simple  fact.  A satisfactory  explanation  of  this  confederacy  can 
be  found  in  similar  Indian  confederacies.  It  Avas  a growth  from  the  com- 
mon institutions  of  the  Indian  family.  Underneath  these  delusive  pictures 
a council  of  chiefs  is  revealed,  Avhicli  Avas  the  natural  and  legitimate  instru- 
ment of  government  under  Indian  institutions.  No  other  form  of  government 
was  possible  among  them.  They  had,  beside,  Avhicli  was  an  equally  legiti- 
mate part  of  this  system,  an  elective  and  deposable  war-chief  (Teuchtli), 
the  power  to  elect  and  to  depose  being  held  by  a fixed  constituency  ever 
present,  and  ready  to  act  when  occasion  required.  The  Aztec  organization 
stood  plainly  before  the  Spaniards  as  a confederacy  of  Indian  tribes.  Noth- 
ing but  the  grossest  perversion  of  obvious  facts  could  have  enabled  Spanish 
writers  to  fabricate  the  Aztec  monarchy  out  of  a democratic  organization. 

Without  ascertaining  the  unit  of  their  social  system,  if  organized  in 
gentes,  as  they  probably  Avere,  and  Avithout  gaining  any  knowledge  of  the 
organization  that  did  exist,  they  boldly  invented  for  the  Aztecs  a monarchy, 
Avith  high  feudal  characteristics,  out  of  the  reception  of  Cortes  by  their 
principal  war-chief,  and  such  other  flimsy  materials  as  Montezuma’s  dinner. 
This  misconception  has  stood,  through  American  indolence,  quite  as  long 
as  it  deserves  to  stand. 

Since  the  foregoing’  was  Avritten,  the  in  A' estimations  of  Mr.  Bandelier 
“On  the  Social  Organization  and  Mode  of  Government  of  the  Ancient 
Mexicans”  have  been  published.  With  the  new  light  thus  thrown  upon  the 
subject,  this  chapter  should  have  been  re-written.  He  shows  that  the  Aztecs 
Avere  composed  of  twenty  gentes  or  clans.  “ The  existence  of  twenty  auton- 
omous consanguine  groups  is  thus  revealed,  and  we  find  them  again  at  the 
time  of  the  conquest,  Avhile  their  last  vestiges  were  perpetuated  until  after 
1690,  when  Fray  Augustin  de  Vetancurt  mentions  four  chief  quarters 
with  their  original  Indian  names,  comprising  and  subdivided  into  twenty 
‘barrios.’  Now  the  Spanish  word  ‘ barrio ’ is  equivalent  to  the  Mexican  term 
‘ calpulli .’  Both  indicate  the  kin,  localized  and  settled  with  the  view  to  per- 
manence.”1 This  organization,  as  Avas  to  have  been  expected,  lies  at  the 

1 Twelfth  Annual  Report  of  the  Peabody  Museum  of  Archseology  and  Ethnology,  Cambridge, 
1880,  p.  591. 


250  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


foundation  of  their  social  system.  He  names  the  following  as  among  the 
rights,  duties,  and  obligations  of  the  kinship: 

I.  The  kin  claimed  the  right  to  name  its  members. 

II.  It  teas  the  duty  of  the  kin  to  educate  or  train  its  members  to  every 
branch  of  public  life. 

III.  The  kin  had  the  right  to  regulate  and  to  control  marriage. 

IV.  It  was  one  of  the  attributes  of  the  kin  to  enjoy  common  burial. 

V.  The  righ  t of  the  kin  to  ‘ separate  worsh  ip  ' appears  not  only  established 
within  the  kin's  territory , but  it  is  also  recognized  even  at  the 
central  medicine-lodge  of  the  tribe. 

VI.  The  kin  teas  obligated  to  protect  and  defend  the  persons  and  property 
of  its  members , and  to  resent  and  punish  any  injury  done  to  them , 
as  if  it  were  a crime  committed  against  the  kin  itself. 

VII.  The  kin  had  the  right  to  elect  its  officers,  as  well  as  the  right  to  re- 
move or  depose  them  for  misbehavior.1 

He  also  regards  the  four  “brotherhoods”  who  occupied  the  four  quar- 
ters of  the  pueblo  as  probably  phratries.2  He  also  shows  that  the  govern- 
ment was  under  the  control  of  a council,  Tlatocan , composed  of  a body  of 
chiefs.3 

One  of  the  most  interesting  results  of  this  investigation  is  the  discovery 
of  a class  of  persons  unattached  to  any  gens,  “outcasts  from  the  bond  of 
kinship.”4  Such  a class  grows  up  in  every  gentile  society,  when  as  far 
advanced  as  the  Aztecs  were.  It  finds  its  analogue  in  the  Roman  Plebeians. 
This  i ■emarkable  essay  will  abundantly  repay  a careful  study. 

When  we  have  learned  to  speak  of  the  American  Indians  in  language 
adapted  to  Indian  life  and  Indian  institutions,  they  will  become  compre- 
hensible. So  long  as  we  apply  to  their  social  organizations  and  domestic 
institutions  terms  adapted  to  the  organizations  and  to  the  institutions  of 
civilized  society,  we  caricature  the  Indians  and  deceive  ourselves.  There 
was  neither  a political  society,  nor  a state,  nor  any  civilization  in  America 
when  it  was  discovered;  and,  excluding  the  Eskimos,  but  one  race  of  Indians, 
the  Red  Race. 

1 Twelfth  Ami.  Kept.  Peabody  Museum,  pp.  615-638.  2 lb.,  p.  584.  3 lb.,  p.  646,  et  seq.  4 lb.,  p.  608,  et  seq. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

RUINS  OF  HOUSES  OF  THE  SEDENTARY  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND 

CENTRAL  AMERICA. 

At  the  epoch  of  their  discovery,  Yucatan,  Chiapas,  and  Guatemala  were 
probably  more  thickly  peopled  than  any  other  portion  of  North  America 
of  equal  area;  and  their  inhabitants  were  more  advanced  than  the  remaining 
aborigines.  Their  pueblos  were  planted  along  the  rivers  and  streams,  often 
quite  near  each  other,  and  presented  the  same  picture  of  occupation  and  of 
village  life  which  might  have  been  seen  at  the  same  time  in  the  valley  of  the 
Rio  Grande,  of  the  Rio  Chaco,  and  probably  of  the  San  Juan,  and,  at  a still 
earlier  period,  of  the  Scioto.  They  consisted  of  a single  great  house,  or  of 
a cluster  of  houses  near  each  other,  forming  one  pueblo  or  village.  In 
some  cases,  four  or  more  structures  were  grouped  together  upon  the  same 
elevated  platform;  and  where  there  were  several  of  these  platforms,  each 
surmounted  with  one  or  more  edifices,  one  of  them  was  devoted  to  religious, 
and  a portion  of  another  to  social  and  public  uses.  But  there  is  no  reason 
for  supposing,  from  any  ruins  yet  found,  or  from  what  is  known  of  the 
people  historically,  that  any  one  pueblo  contained,  at  most,  ten  thousand 
inhabitants.  No  one  tribe,  or  confederacy  of  tribes,  had  risen  to  supremacy 
within  either  of  these  areas  by  the  consolidation  of  surrounding  tribes. 
They  were  found,  on  the  contrary,  in  the  same  state  of  subdivision  and 
independence  which  invariably  accompanies  the  gentile  organization.  Con- 
federacies in  all  probability  existed  among  such  contiguous  pueblos  as 
spoke  the  same  dialect,  as  the  Cibolans  were  probably  confederated,  and  as 
the  Aztecs,  Tezcucans,  and  Tlacopans  are  known  to  have  been.  Such  con- 
federacies, however,  could  not  have  reached  beyond  a common  language 
of  the  tribes  confederated. 


251 


252  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


The  great  houses  of  stone  of  the  Village  Indians  within  the  areas 
named,  and  particularly  in  Yucatan  and  Central  America,  have  done  more 
than  all  other  considerations  to  give  to  them  their  present  position  in  the 
estimation  of  mankind.  They  are  the  highest  constructive  works  of  the 
Indian  tribes.  It  may  also  be  again  suggested  that,  from  the  beginning,  a 
false  interpretation  has  been  put  upon  this  architecture,  from  a failure  to 
understand  its  object  and  uses,  or  the  condition  and  plan  of  domestic  life 
of  the  people  who  occupied  these  structures.  The  design  and  object  for 
which  these  edifices  were  constructed  still  await  an  intelligent  explanation. 

The  highest  type  of  architecture  which  then  existed  among  the  aborig- 
ines in  any  part  of  America  was  found  in  the  regions  named ; particularly 
in  Yucatan,  Chiapas,  and  Honduras  Speaking  of  Yucatan,  Herrera 
remarks  that  “the  language  is  everywhere  the  same,”  the  Maya  being  the 
language  of  its  principal  tribes,  but  “the  whole  country,”  he  continues,  “is 
divided  into  eighteen  districts.”1  If  this  reference  is  to  a classification  by 
tribes,  it  shows  that  the  Mayas  had  fallen,  by  the  process  of  segmentation, 
into  this  number  of  independent  groups ; the  pueblos  in  each  district  being 
united  under  one  government  for  mutual  defense.  It  seems  probable, 
however,  that  the  group  was  smaller  than  a tribe.  It  is  difficult  in  some 
cases  to  determine,  from  Herrera’s  language,  whether  he  refers  to  native  or 
Spanish  divisions.  In  like  manner,  speaking  of  Chiapas,  he  remarks,  that 
“ this  province  is  divided  into  four  nations  of  different  languages,  which 
are  the  Chiapanecans,  the  Toques , the  Zelsales , and  the  Quelenes,  all  of 
which  differ  in  some  particulars.  * * * There  are  in  it  twenty-five 

towns,  the  chief  of  them  called  Tecpatlan ” (i.  e.,  among  the  Toques).  * * * 
The  nation  of  Zelsales  has  thirteen  towns,  * * * the  Quelenes  have 

twenty-five  towns.”2  Sixty-three  pueblos  in  three  of  the  four  tribes  who 
occupied  the  small  territory  of  Chiapas  is  a very  large  number,  except  on 
the  supposition  that  each  pueblo  consisted  usually  of  a single  great  house, 
like  those  in  New  Mexico,  which  is  probable;  but  even  then  it  seems  excess- 
ive. It  tends,  however,  to  show  the  mode  of  occupation  and  settlement  of 
the  Village  Indians  in  general.  They  planted  their  pueblos  on  the  water- 
courses, where  such  existed,  each  tribe  or  subdivision  of  a tribe  gathering 


History  of  America,  1.  c.,  i v,  1G1. 


*Ib.,  iv,  189. 


HOliGAN.] 


LAS  CASAS  ON  INHABITANTS  OF  YUCATAN. 


253 


in  a cluster  of  houses,  four  or  five  in  number,  or  in  a single  house ; and,  as 
may  be  inferred  from  the  descriptions  of  Las  Casas,  so  near  together  on 
the  same  rivulet  that  had  not  the  native  forest  obstructed  the  view  they 
would  have  been  in  sight  of  each  other  for  miles  along  its  banks.  The 
scattered  ruins  of  these  pueblos  in  Yucatan  at  the  present  time,  often  con- 
sisting of  a single  large  structure,  confirms  this  view. 

The  tropical  region  of  Yucatan  and  Central  America,  then  as  now,  was 
undoubtedly  covered  with  forests,  except  the  limited  clearings  around  the 
pueblos,  and,  apart  from  these  pueblos,  substantially  uninhabited.  Field 
agriculture  was  of  course  unknown,  as  they  had  neither  domestic  animals 
nor  plows ; but  the  Indians  cultivated  maize,  beans,  squashes,  pepper,  cot- 
ton, cacao,  and  tobacco  in  garden  beds,  and  exercised  some  care  over  cer- 
tain native  fruits ; cultivation  tending  to  localize  them  in  villages.  Herrera 
remarks  of  the  Village  Indians  of  Honduras  that  “ they  sow  thrice  a year, 
and  they  were  wont  to  grub  up  great  woods  with  hatchets  made  of  flint.”1 
Without  metallic  implements  to  subdue  the  forest,  or  even  with  copper  axes, 
such  as  were  found  among  the  Aztecs,  a very  small  portion  only  of  the 
country  would  have  been  brought  under  cultivation,  and  that  confined 
mainly  to  the  margins  of  the  streams. 

Las  Casas,  bishop  of  Chiapas,  who  was  in  Yucatan  and  Chiapas  about 
1539,  after  remarking  of  the  people  of  the  former  country  that  they  were 
“ better  civilized  in  morals  and  in  what  belongs  to  the  good  order  of  socie- 
ties than  the  rest  of  the  Indians,”  proceeds  as  follows  : “ The  pretence  of 
subjecting  the  Indians  to  the  government  of  Spain  is  only  made  to  carry 
on  the  design  of  subjecting  them  to  the  dominion  of  private  men,  who  make 
them  all  their  slaves.”2  And,  again,  he  quotes  from  a letter  of  the  bishop  of 
St.  Martha  to  the  King  of  Spain,  to  this  effect : “ To  redress  the  grievances  of 
this  province,  it  ought  to  be  delivered  from  the  tyranny  of  those  who  ravage 
it,  and  committed  to  the  care  of  persons  of  integrity,  who  will  treat  the  inhab- 
itants with  more  kindness  and  humanity;  for  if  it  be  left  to  the  mercy  of  the 
governors,  who  commit  all  sorts  of  outrages  with  impunity,  the  province 
will  be  destroyed  in  a very  short  time.”3 


1 History  of  America,  iv.,  133. 

2 An  Account  of  the  First  Voyages,  etc.,  in  America,  Loud,  ed.,  Trans.,  p.  52. 

3Ib.,  in  61. 


254  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


There  are  two  material  questions  which  require  priority  of  considera- 
tion : First,  whether  or  not  the  houses  now  in  ruins  in  Yucatan  and  Central 
America  were  occupied  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  conquest ; and,  second, 
whether  or  not  the  present  Indians  of  the  country  are  the  descendants  of 
the  people  who  constructed  them.  There  is  no  basis  whatever  for  the 
negative  of  either  proposition  ; but  it  is  assumed  by  those  who  regard  the 
so-called  palace  at  Palenque  and  the  Governor’s  House  at  Uxmal  as  the 
ancient  residences  of  Indian  potentates  that  great  cities  which  once  sur- 
rounded them  have  perished,  and,  further,  that  these  ruins  have  an  antiquity 
reaching  far  back  of  the  Spanish  conquest. 

Mr.  Stephens  adopts  the  conclusion  “ that  at  the  time  of  the  conquest, 
and  afterwards,  the  Indians  were  living  in  and  occupied  these  very  cities.”1 
He  also  regarded  the  present  Indians  of  the  country  as  the  descendants  of 
those  in  possession  at  the  time  of  the  conquest.  He  might  have  added  that 
as  the  Maya  was  the  language  of  the  aborigines  of  Yucatan  at  the  epoch 
of  the  discovery,  and  is  now  the  language  of  the  greater  part  of  the  natives 
who  have  not  lost  their  original  speech,  there  was  no  ground  for  either  sup- 
position. Herrera  remarks  of  the  inhabitants  of  Yucatan,  that  the  “people 
were  then  found  living  together  very  politely  in  towns,  kept  very  clean ; 
* * * and  the  reason  of  their  living  so  close  together  was  because  of 

the  wars  which  exposed  them  to  the  danger  of  being  taken,  sold,  and  sacri- 
ficed; but  the  wars  of  the  Spaniards  made  them  disperse.’’2  This  last 
statement  is  very  significant.  Mr.  Stephens,  whose  works  and  whose  obser- 
vations are  in  the  main  so  valuable,  is  responsible  to  no  small  extent  for  the 
delusive  inferences  which  have  been  drawn  from  the  architecture  of  Yuca- 
tan, Honduras,  and  Chiapas.  If  he  had  repressed  his  imagination  and  con- 
fined himself  to  what  he  found,  namely,  certain  Indian  pueblos  built  of 
dressed  stone,  and  in  good  architecture,  which  are  sufficiently  remarkable 
just  as  they  are,  in  ruins,  and  had  omitted  altogether  such  terms  as  “ palaces ” 
and  great  cities , his  readers  would  have  escaped  the  deceptive  conclusions 
with  respect  to  the  actual  condition  of  society  among  the  aborigines  which 
his  terminology  and  mode  of  treatment  were  certain  to  suggest. 

It  is  sufficiently  ascertained  that  within  a few  years  after  the  conquest 


‘Incidents  of  Travel  in  Yucatan,  ii,  348,  375. 


History  of  America,  iv,  1(18. 


MORGAN.] 


HOUSES  IN  YUCATAN. 


255 


of  Mexico,  Yucatan  and  Central  America  were  overrun  by  military  adven- 
turers whose  rapacity  and  violence  drove  the  harmless  and  timid  Village 
Indians  from  their  pueblos  into  the  forests;  thus  destroying  in  a few 
years  a higher  culture  than  the  Spaniards  were  able  to  substitute  in  its 
place.  Nothing  can  be  plainer,  I think,  than  this  additional  fact,  that  all 
there  ever  was  of  Palenque,  Uxmal,  Copan,  and  other  Indian  pueblos  in 
these  areas,  building  for  building  and  stone  for  stone,  is  there  now  in  ruins 

There  are  reasons  for  believing,  from  the  more  advanced  condition  of 
their  house  architecture,  that  Yucatan  was  inhabited  by  Village  Indians  from 
an  earlier,  and  for  a much  longer,  period  than  the  valley  of  Mexico.  The 
traditions  of  the  Yzaes  of  Chichenisa,  possibly  Chichen  Itza,  and  of  the  Co- 
comes  of  Mayapan,  related  b}"  Herrera,1  claim  a more  ancient  occupation  of 
Yucatan  than  the  Aztec  traditions  claim  for  the  occupation  of  the  valley  of 
Mexico.  The  type  of  village  life  among  the  American  aborigines  was 
adapted  to  a warm  climate,  and  presented  in  this  area  its  highest  exemplifi- 
cation. 

The  notices  of  the  great  houses  in  Yucatan  are  brief  and  general  in 
the  Spanish  histories.  Speaking  of  its  eighteen  districts,  Herrera  remarks 
that  “in  all  of  them  were  so  many,  and  such  stately  stone  buildings,  that  it 
was  amazing,  and  the  greatest  wonder  is,  that  having  no  use  of  any  metal, 
they  were  able  to  raise  such  structures,  which  seem  to  have  been  temples, 
for  their  houses  were  always  of  timber  and  thatched.”1  This  last  statement 
is  not  only  at  variance  with  a previous  one  quoted  above,  but  is  another  of 
the  numerous  misconceptions  which  impair  so  greatly  the  value  of  the 
Spanish  histories.  The  people  undoubtedly  resided  in  these  houses,  which 
were  adapted  to  such  a use  only,  and  were  also  in  the  nature  of  fortresses, 
thus  proving  the  insecurity  in  which  they  lived.  Some  portion  of  the  tribe 
may  have  resided  in  inferior  and  common  habitations  in  the  vicinity  of 
these  pueblos,  and  under  their  protection;  but  the  great  houses  of  stone 
were  built  for  residences  and  not  for  temples,  and  were  the  homes  of  the 
body  of  the  people.  There  were  many  of  these  pueblos,  nearly  all  of  them 
composed  of  one  or  two  large  structures,  sprinkled  over  the  face  of  the 
country  in  eligible  situations  after  the  manner  of  Village  Indian  life.  The 


History  of  America,  iv,  162,  163,  165. 


1 lb.,  iv,  162. 


256  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


same  adaptation  to  communism  in  living  in  large  households  is  found 
impressed  upon  all  the  houses  now  in  ruins  in  these  areas.  They  are  joint- 
tenement  houses  of  the  American  type,  and  very  similar  to  those  still  found 
in  New  Mexico  and  on  the  San  Juan.  At  the  epoch  of  the  Spanish  con- 
quest, they  were  occupied  pueblos,  and  were  deserted  by  the  Indians  to 
escape  the  rapacity  of  Spanish  military  adventurers  by  whom  they  were 
oppressed  and  abused  beyond  Indian  endurance.  Instances  are  mentioned 
by  Herrera  where  large  numbers  destroyed  themselves  to  escape  the  exac- 
tions of  Spanish  masters,  whom  they  were  unable  to  resist.1  The  numerous 
pueblos  in  ruins  scattered  through  the  forests  of  Yucatan  and  southward 
are  so  many  monuments  of  Spanish  misrule,  oppression,  and  rapacity. 

The  most  extensive  group  of  ruins  in  Yucatan  is  that  at  Uxmal.  Its 
several  structures  are  known  as  the  “ Governor’s  House”;  the  “House  of  the 
Nuns,”  which  consists  of  four  disconnected  buildings,  facing  the  four  sides 
of  a court;  the  “House  of  the  Pigeons,”  consisting  of  two  quadrangles; 
the  “House  of  the  Turtles”;  the  “House  of  the  Old  Woman”;  and  the 
“House  of  the  Dwarf”;  with  some  trace  of  smaller  buildings  of  inconsider- 
able size,  and  one  or  two  pyrimidal  elevations  unoccupied  by  structures. 
Of  these,  the  “ Governor’s  House”  may  have  been  the  Tecpan,  or  Official 
House  of  the  Tribe,  from  the  unusual  size  of  the  central  rooms.  The  “House 
of  the  Dwarf”  was  probably  designed  for  the  observance  of  religious  rites. 
The  remaining  structures  were  evidently  the  residence  portions  of  the 
pueblo. 

Among  the  Aztecs,  three  kinds  of  houses  were  distinguished:  1.  Colli, 
the  ordinary  dwelling  house,  of  which  the  “House  of  the  Nuns”  is  an  exam- 
ple. 2.  Ticplantlacalli,  the  “Stone  House,”  which  contained  council  halls, 
etc.,  of  which  the  “Governor’s  House”  is  an  example.  3.  Teocalli,  “House 
of  God,”  such  ns  the  “House  of  the  Dwarf.”  The  estufas  in  New  Mexican 
pueblos  took  the  place  of  the  last  two  in  Mexico  and  Yucatan. 

Ground  plans  of  the  principal  structures  will  be  given  for  comparison 
with  those  in  New  Mexico.  The  pyramidal  elevations  on  which  they  stand 
are  situated  quite  near  each  other,  and  form  one  Indian  pueblo.  The  houses 
are  constructed  of  stone  laid  in  courses,  and  dressed  to  a uniform  surface, 


History  of  America,  iii,  346. 


MORGAN.] 


IDOLS  AT  COPAN— GEAVE  POSTS  OF  CHIEFS. 


257 


with  the  upper  half  of  the  exterior  walls  decorated  with  grotesque  orna- 
ments cut  on  the  faces  of  the  stone.  Foster  states  that  “these  structures 
are  composed  of  a soft  coralline  limestone  of  comparatively  recent  geologi- 
cal formation,  probably  of  the  Tertiary  period.”1 

Idle  so-called  idols  at  Copan  are  the  largest  stones  worked  by  the 
Central  Americans.  They  are  about  eleven  feet  high  by  three  feet  wide 
and  three  feet  deep,  each  face  being  covered  with  sculptures  and  hieroglyphics. 
In  a field  near  the  ruins,  and  near  each  other,  are  nine  of  these  elaborately 
ornamented  statues.  Bv  the  side  of  each  is  a so-called  altar,  about  six  feet 
square  and  four  feet  high,  made  of  separate  stone.  These  Idols  and  Altars 
have  been  supposed  to  have  some  relation  to  their  religious  system,  with 
human  sacrifices  in  the  background  From  their  situation  and  character  it 
may  be  conjectured  that  we  have  here  the  Copan  cemetery,  and  that  these 
idols  are  the  grave-posts,  and  these  altars  are  the  graves  of  Copan  chiefs. 
The  type  of  both  may  still  be  seen  in  Nebraska  in  the  grave-posts  and 
grave-mounds  by  their  side,  of  Iowas  and  Otoes,  and  formerly  in  all  parts 
of  the  United  States  east  of  the  Mississippi.  If  Mr.  Stephens  had  opened 
one  of  these  altars  he  would,  if  this  conjecture  is  well  taken,  have  found 
within  or  under  it  an  Indian  grave,  and  perhaps  a skeleton,  with  the  per- 
sonal articles  usually  entombed  beside  the  dead.  It  was  customary  among 
the  Northern  Indians  for  the  chosen  friend  of  the  decedent,  with  whom  he 
formed  this  peculiar  tie,  to  erect  his  grave-post,  representing  the  chief  exploits 
of  the  departed  upon  one  side,  with  ideographs  and  his  own  upon  the  oppo- 
site side.  “The  stone,”  Mr.  Stephens  observes,  “of  which  all  these  altars 
and  statues  are  made,  is  a soft  grit-stone.”2 

Norman  had  previously  described  the  material  used  as  a “fine  concrete 
limestone.”3  Elsewhere,  with  respect  to  the  nature  of  the  tools  for  cutting 
this  stone,  he  remarks  that  “flint  was  undoubtedly  used.”4  Stephens  makes 
a similar  statement.  The  exact  size  of  the  stones  used  is  not  given,  but 
they  were  not  large.  Norman  remarks  of  Chichen  Itza  that  “the  stones 
are  cut  in  paraUelopipeds  of  about  twelve  inches  in  length  and  six  in  breadth, 
the  interstices  filled  up  with  the  same  materials  of  which  the  terraces  are 

‘Prehistoric  Races  of  the  United  States,  p.  398.  2 Central  America,  Chiapas,  and  Yucatan,  1-153. 

3 Rambles  in  Yucatan,  p.  126.  ■‘Ib.,  p.  184. 


17 


258  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


composed.”1  He  also  speaks  of  “large  blocks  of  hewn  stone  used  in  the 
doorways.”2  A soft  coralline  limestone  could  be  easily  worked  with  flint 
implements  when  first  taken  from  the  quarry,  and  would  harden  after 
exposure  to  the  air.  The  size  and  nature  of  the  stones  used  is  some  evi- 
dence of  limited  advancement  in  solid  stone  architecture.5 

These  structures,  as  reproduced  in  engravings  by  Stephens  and  Cather- 
wood,  may  well  excite  surprise  and  admiration  for  the  taste,  skill,  and 
industry  they  display,  and  the  degree  of  progress  they  reveal.  When 
rightly  understood,  they  will  enable  us  to  estimate  the  extent  of  the  prog- 
ress actually  made,  which  was  truly  remarkable  for  a people  still  in  barbar- 
ism, and  no  further  advanced  than  the  Middle  Status. 


Fig.  50. — Side  elevation  of  pyramidal  platform  of  Governor’s  House. 


We  have  seen  that  the  style  of  architecture  in  New  Mexico  brought 
the  Indians  to  the  house-tops  as  the  common  place  of  living.  At  first  sug- 
gested for  security,  it  became  in  time  a settled  habit  of  life.  The  same 
want  was  met  in  Yucatan  and  Chiapas  by  a new  expedient,  namely,  a pyra- 
midal platform  or  elevation  of  earth,  twenty,  thirty,  and  forty  feet  high, 
upon  the  level  summits  of  which  their  great  houses  were  erected.  These 
platforms  were  made  still  higher  for  small  buildings.  A natural  elevation 
being,  when  practicable,  selected,  the  top  was  leveled  or  raised  by  artificial 
means,  the  sides  made  rectangular  and  sloping,  and  faced  on  the  four  sides 
with  a dry  stone  wall,  the  ascent  being  made  by  a flight  of  stone  steps.  It 
was  not  uncommon  to  find  two  such  platforms,  and  sometimes  three,  one 
above  the  other,  as  shown  in  the  figure.  These  platforms,  called  terraces, 
were  the  gathering  and  the  lounging  places  of  the  inhabitants. 

The  edifices  in  the  regions  named  are  almost  invariably  but  one  story 
high,  and  but  two  rooms  deep,  the  walls  being  carried  up  vertically  to  an 


1 Rambles  ill  Yucatan,  p.  127. 


"Ib.,  p.  128, 


MORGAN.] 


GOVERNOR’S  HOUSE  AT  UXMAL. 


259 


equal  height  on  the  sides  and  ends,  and  terminating  in  a Hat  roof.  The 
doorways  opened  upon  the  platform  area  or  terrace  when  the  building  was 
single,  and  where  it  was  carried  around  the  four  sides  of  an  inclosed  court 
they  opened  usually  upon  the  court.  As  their  elevation  above  the  level  of 
the  surrounding  area  invested  them  with  the  character  of  fortresses,  they 
were  defended  on  the  line  or  edge  of  the  terrace- walls,  or,  rather,  at  the  head 
of  the  flight  of  steps  by  means  of  which  the  summit-level  was  reached. 
Neither  adobe  brick,  nor  rubble  masonry,  nor  timber  roofs  could  withstand 
the  tropical  climate,  with  its  pouring  rains  during  a portion  of  the  year. 
Stone  walls  and  a vaulted  ceiling  were  indispensable  to  a permanent  struct- 
ure. There  were,  doubtless,  pueblos  of  timber-framed  houses  with  thatched 
roofs  here  and  there  in  Yucatan,  Chiapas,  and  Honduras,  as  there  were  fur- 
ther south  towards  the  Isthmus;  but  the  prevailing  material  used  was  stone, 
as  the  number  of  small  pueblos  in  ruins  still  attest.  Upon  these  elevated 
platforms  they  enjoyed  the  same  security  as  the  Village  Indians  of  New 
Mexico  upon  their  roof-tops  and  within  the  walls  of  their  houses.  They 
were  also  raised  above  the  flight  of  the  mosquitoes  and  flies,  the  scourge 
of  this  hot  region.  Considering  the  surrounding  conditions,  single-storied 
houses  upon  raised  platforms  was  a natural  suggestion,  harmonizing  with  a 
style  of  architecture,  the  communal  character  of  which  was  predetermined 
by  their  social  condition.  For  the  details  of  this  architecture  reference 
must  be  made  to  published  works,  which  are  easily  accessible,  its  general 
features  and  the  principles  from  which  they  sprang  being  the  only  subjects 
within  the  scope  of  this  inquiry. 

The  front  elevation  of  the  Governor’s  House  at  Uxmal,  shown  in  the 
engraving,  and  which  was  taken  from  Stephens’  work,  will  answer  as  a 
sample  of  the  whole.  It  stands  upon  the  upper  of  three  platforms,  of 
which  the  lowest  is  five  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  long,  fifteen  feet 
broad  to  the  base  of  the  middle  platform,  and  three  feet  high.  The  second 
is  five  hundred  and  forty-five  feet  long,  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  broad 
to  the  base  of  the  upper  platform,  and  twenty  feet  high.  The  third  is 
three  hundred  and  sixty  feet  long,  thirty  feet  broad  in  front  of  the 
edifice,  and  nineteen  feet  high.  The  upper  one  is  formed  upon  the  back 
half  of  the  middle  platform,  of  which  last  Mr.  Stephens  observes  that  “this 


260  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE  LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


great  terrace  was  not  entirely  artificial.  The  substratum  was  a natural 
rock,  and  showed  that  advantage  had  been  taken  of  a natural  elevation  as 
far  as  it  went,  and  by  this  means  some  portion  of  the  immense  labor  of  con- 
structing the  terrace  had  been  saved.”1  The  three  terraces  with  their  slop- 
ing walls  are  shown  in  the  engraving,  the  house  standing  upon  an  elevation 
forty-two  feet  above  the  surrounding  area.  The  ascent  from  terrace  to 
terrace  was  made  by  flights  of  stone  steps,  which  are  not  distinctly  shown. 
When  newly  constructed  and  inhabited,  this  structure,  from  its  command- 
ing situation,  its  great  size,  and  conspicuous  terraces,  must  have  presented 
a striking  appearance.  It  is  doubtful  whether  any  of  the  Aryan  tribes, 
when  in  the  Middle  Status  of  barbarism,  have  produced  houses  superior  to 
those  in  Yucatan. 

The  house  is  symmetrical  in  structure,  three  hundred  and  twenty -two 
feet  long,  thirty-nine  feet  deep,  and  about  twenty-five  feet  high.  It  has 
eleven  doorways,  besides  two  small  openings  in  front,  and  contains  twenty- 
two  apartments,  two  of  which  are  each  sixty  feet  long.  The  rear  wall  is 
solid,  and  in  the  central  part  is  nine  feet  thick.  A parallel  wall  through 
the  center  divides  the  interior  into  two  rows  of  apartments,  of  which  those 
in  front  are  eleven  feet  six  inches  deep  and  twenty-three  feet  high  to  the 
top  of  the  arch,  and  those  back  of  them  are  thirteen  feet  deep  and  twenty- 
two  feet  high.  Both  inside  and  out  the  walls  are  of  dressed  stone  laid  in 
courses.  No  drawings  of  the  rooms  in  the  Governor’s  House  are  furnished 
in  Mr.  Stephens’  work.  The  back  rooms  are  dark,  excepting  the  light 
received  through  the  front  doorway. 

“The  House  of  the  Nuns,”  says  Mr.  Stephens,  “is  quadrangular,  with 
a court  yard  in  the  center.  It  stands  on  the  highest  of  three  terraces. 
The  lowest  is  three  feet  high  and  twenty  feet  wide;  the  second,  twelve  feet 
high  and  forty-five  feet  wide;  and  the  third,  four  feet  high  and  five  feet 
wide,  extending  the  whole  length  of  the  front  of  the  building.  The  front 
[building]  is  two  hundred  and  seventy-nine  feet  long,  and  above  the  cornice, 
from  one  end  to  the  other,  is  ornamented  with  sculpture.  In  the  centre  is 
a gateway  ten  feet  eight  inches  wide,  spanned  by  the  triangular  arch,  and 
leading  to  the  court  yard.  On  each  side  of  this  gateway  are  four  doorways 


’■Incidents  of  Travel  in  Yucatan,  i,  128. 


Fig.  52. — Ground  plan  of  Governor’s  House  at  Uxmal. 


MORGAN.] 


HOUSE  OE  THE  NUNS. 


201 


with  wooden  lintels,  opening  to  apartments  averaging  twenty-four  feet  long, 
ten  feet  wide,  seventeen  feet  high  to  the  top  of  the  arch,  but  having  no 
connection  with  each  other.  The  building  that  forms  the  right  or  eastern 
side  of  the  quadrangle  measures  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight  feet  long;  that 
on  the  left  is  one  hundred  and  seventy-three  feet  long,  and  the  range  oppo- 
site, or  at  the  end  of  the  quadrangle,  measures  two  hundred  and  sixty-four 


Fig.  53. — Ground-plan  of  the  House  of  the  Nuns. 


feet.  These  thuee  ranges  have  no  doorways  outside,  but  the  exterior  of 
each  is  a dead  wall,  and  above  the  cornice  all  are  ornamented  with  the 
same  rich  and  elaborate  sculptures.”1 

Altogether,  these  four  structures  contain  seventy-six  apartments,  which 
vary  in  size  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  long,  and  from  ten  to  twelve  feet 
wide.  There  are  twenty  single  apartments,  and  twenty -five  pairs  of  apart- 


1 Incidents  of  travel  in  Yucatan,  i,  299. 


262  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


ments,  half  of  which,  as  in  the  Governor’s  House,  are  dark,  except  as  they 
are  lighted  from  the  doorways  connecting  with  the  rooms  in  front.  In  the 
fifth  structure,  not  described,  there  are  six  pairs  of  similar  apartments.  In 
the  building  on  the  right  there  are  six  rooms  connecting  with  each  other, 
one  of  which,  the  front  room,  is  shown  in  Fig.  54.  This  number  of  con- 
necting rooms  is  so  unusual  in  Yucatan  architecture  as  to  attract  attention. 
Each  of  the  four  edifices  would  accommodate  from  six  hundred  to  one 
thousand  persons,  after  the  fashion  of  Village  Indians. 

In  this  view  of  the  interior  of  a room  in  the  House  of  the  Nuns,  Fig.  54, 
which  was  taken  from  Stephens’  work,  is  shown  the  form  of  the  triangular 
ceiling  common  in  all  the  edifices  in  Yucatan  and  Chiapas.  It  is  a triangu- 
lar arch  above  the  line  of  the  exterior  cornice,  without  a keystone,  and 
with  the  faces  of  the  stones  beveled,  and  forming  a perfect  vault  over  each 
apartment.  But  it  has  this  peculiarity,  that  a space  a foot  or  more  wide  in 
the  center  is  carried  up  vertically  about  two  feet,  and  covered  with  a cap 
of  stone,  so  that  the  side  walls  which  form  the  vaulted  ceiling  do  not  come 
together  so  as  to  rest  against  each  other.  The  mechanical  principle  is  the 
same  as  in  the  New  Mexican  arch,  but  is  ( here  applied  in  a more  extended 
and  more  difficult  scale.  It  is  the  most  remakable  feature  in  this  architecture, 
mechanically  considered.  When  we  come  to  know  that  this  vaulted  ceiling 
was  constructed  over  a core  of  solid  masonry  within  the  chamber,  after- 
wards  removed — which  was  the  fact — it  will  be  seen  that  these  Indian  masons 
and  architects  were  still  feeling  their  way  experimentally  to  a scientific 
knowledge  of  the  art  of  arts.  A projecting  cornice  or  median  entablature 
is  seen  above  the  doorway  on  the  exterior  face  of  the  wall,  which  balances 
somewhat  the  interior  inward  projection  of  the  ceiling  as  it  rises,  and,  since 
the  wall  is  carried  up  flush  with  the  cornice,  the  down-weight  of  the  super- 
incumbent mass  sustained  the  masonry.  The  room  show'll  is  thirty-three 
feet  long,  thirteen  wide,  and  twenty- three  feet  high  to  the  cap-stone,  and 
the  room  communicating  with  it  is  of  the  same  width,  and  nine  feet  long. 
The  apartments  back  of  these  are  of  corresponding  size.1  There  were  orig- 
inally lintels  of  hard  sapote  wood  over  the  doorways,  upon  the  decay  of 
which  a portion  of  the  masonry  has  fallen.  Those  over  the  doorways  through 


'Iucidents  of  Travel,  etc.,  i,  308. 


Fig.  54. — Section  of  room  in  House  of  tlie  Nuns. 


MORGAN.! 


TRIANGULA  R CEILING  OF  STONE. 


263 


the  partition  walls  are  found  in  place.  The  proof  of  the  comparatively 
modern  date  of  these  structures  is  conclusive  from  these  facts  alone. 

It  will  be  observed  that  there  are  six  single  apartments  in  the  building 
on  the  right  of  the  “House  of  Nuns”  whifch  have  no  connection  with  the 
remaining  rooms  of  the  building,  and  that  the  others  are  in  pairs,  a back 
room  connecting  with  the  one  in  front,  and  neither  with  any  others.  It 
seems  to  show  very  plainly,  in  the  plan  of  the  house  itself,  that  it  was  de- 
signed to  be  occupied  by  distinct  groups  composed  of  related  families,  each 
group  a large  household  by  itself.  If  the  communal  principle  in  living 
existed  in  fact  among  them,  its  expression  in  the  interior  arrangement  of  the 
house,  and  in  this  form,  might  have  been  expected.  This  striking  and  sig- 
nificant feature  runs  through  all  the  structures,  in  these  areas,  of  which 
ground-plans  have  been  obtained. 

The  triangular  ceiling,  in  effect,  is  an  attempt  to  extend  the  lintel  in 
sections  across  the  vault  of  a chamber  in  the  place  of  joists,  and,  so  far  as 
the  writer  is  aware,  the  only  attempt  ever  made  by  any  barbarous  people 
to  form  a ceiling  of  stone  over  ordinary  residence  rooms.  In  a wall  and 
ceiling  formed  in  this  manner,  and  carried  up  several  feet  above  the  apex 
of  the  triangular  arch,  there  would  be  no  lateral  thrust  outward  of  the 
masonry. 

It  should  be  stated  that  there  are  neither  fire-place,  chimneys,  nor  win- 
dows in  any  of  these  houses;  neither  have  any  been  found,  so  far  as  the 
writer  is  aware,  in  any  ancient  structure  in  Yucatan  or  Central  America. 
Fires  were  not  needed  for  warmth;  but  since  they  were  for  cooking,  it  shows 
very  plainly  that  no  cooking  was  done  within  these  houses.  A presump- 
tion at  once  arises  that  their  inmates  prepared  their  food  in  the  open  court, 
or  on  the  middle  terrace,  by  household  groups,  making  a common  stock  of 
their  provisions,  and  dividing  from  the  earthen  cauldron,  like  the  Iroquois. 
The  communistic  character  of  these  houses  is  shown  by  their  great  size,  and 
by  the  separation  of  the  rooms,  generally  in  pairs,  having  no  connection 
with  the  remainder  of  the  house.  Each  pair  of  rooms  would  accommodate 
several  married  pairs  with  their  children ; and  so  would  each  single  apart- 
ment, according  to  the  mode  of  life  of  the  Village  Indians.  Moreover, 
communism  in  living  appears  to  have  been  a law  of  man’s  condition  both 


204  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE  LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


in  the  Lower  and  in  the  Middle  Status  of  barbarism.  Among-  the  Iroquois, 
one  regular  meal  each  day  was  all  their  mode  of  life  permitted;  hunger 
being  allayed  by  hominy  kept  constantly  prepared,  or  such  other  food 
as  their  domestic  resources  allowed.  It  is  not  probable  that  the  Aborigines 
of  Yucatan  were  able  to  suparadd  either  a regular  breakfast  or  a supper. 
These  belong  to  the  more  highly  developed  house-keeping  of  the  mono- 
gamian  family  in  civilization. 

Another  custom,  usual  in  the  Lower  Status  of  barbarism,  seems  to  have 
been  continued  in  the  Middle  Status;  namely,  of  the  men  eating  first  and 
by  themselves,  and  the  women  and  children  afterwards.  Without  a knowl- 
edge of  tables  or  of  chairs,  the  dinner  was  of  necessity  a solitary  affair 
between  the  person  and  his  earthen  bowl  or  platter.  The  time,  however, 
for  the  dinner  was  the  same  to  all  the  men,  and  afterwards  to  the  women 
and  children.  Herrera,  in  his  summary  of  the  habits  of  the  people  of 
Yucatan,  drops  the  remark  incidentally,  that  at  their  festivals  the  women 
“did  eat  apart  from  the  men.”1  This  is  precisely  what  would  have  been 
expected  had  nothing  been  said  on  the  subject. 

There  are  some  proofs  bearing  directly  upon  the  question  of  the  ancient 
practice  of  communism  in  these  Uxmal  houses.  They  are  found  in  the 
present  usages  of  the  Maya  Indians  of  Yucatan,  the  descendants  of  the 
builders  of  these  houses,  which  they  may  reasonably  be  supposed  to  have 
derived  from  their  ancestors.  At  Nohcacab,  a short  distance  east  of  the 
ruins  of  Uxmal,  there  was  a settlement  of  Maya  Indians,  whose  commun- 
ism in  living  was  accidentally  discovered  by  Mr.  Stephens,  when  among 
them  to  employ  laborers.  He  remarks  as  follows:  “Their  community  con- 
sists of  a hundred  labradores  or  working  men;  their  lands  are  held  in 
common,  and  the  products  are  shared  by  all.  Their  food  is  prepared  at 
one  hut,  and  every  family  sends  for  its  portion;  which  explains  a singular 
spectacle  we  had  seen  on  our  arrival  [in  1841],  a procession  of  women  and 
children,  each  carrying  an  earthen  bowl  containing  a quantity  of  smoking 
hot  broth,  all  coming  down  the  same  road,  and  dispersing  among  different 
huts  * * * From  our  ignorance  of  the  language,  and  the  number  of 

other  and  more  pressing  matters  claiming  our  attention,  we  could  not  learn 


History  of  America,  iv,  1?5, 


MORGAN.  1 CEILING  CONSTKUCTED  OYEE  A COKE  OF  MASONKY. 


265 


all  the  details  of  their  internal  economy,  but  it  seemed  to  approximate  that 
improved  state  of  association  which  is  sometimes  heard  of  among1  us;  and 
as  this  has  existed  for  an  unknown  length  of  time,  and  can  no  longer  be 
considered  experimental,  Owen  and  Fourier  might  perhaps  take  lessons 
from  them  with  advantage.  * * * I never  before  regretted  so  much 

my  ignorance  of  the  Maya  language.”1  A hundred  working  men  indicate 
a total  of  five  hundred  persons  who  were  then  depending  for  their  daily 
food  upon  a single  fire,  and  a single  cooking-house,  the  provisions  being 
supplied  from  common  stores,  and  divided  from  the  kettle.  It  is  not  un- 
likely a truthful  picture  of  the  mode  of  life  in  the  House  of  the  Nuns,  and 
in  the  Governor’s  House  at  the  period  of  European  discovery.  Each  group 
practising  communism,  for  convenience  and  for  economy,  may  have  included 
all  the  inmates  of  a single  house,  or  its  occupants  may  have  subdivided 
into  lesser  groups;  but  the  presumption  is  in  favor  of  the  larger.  Evidence 
has  elsewhere  been  adduced  of  the  existence  of  the  organization  intogentes 
among  the  Mayas,  with  descent  in  the  male  line,  from  which  it  may  be 


inferred  that  the  occupation  of  these  houses  was  on  the  basis  of  gentile 
kinship  among  the  families  in  each,  the  fathers  and  their  children  belonging 
to  the  same  gens,  and  the  wives  and  mothers  to  other  gentes.  All  the  facts 
seem  to  indicate  that  communism  in  living  was  practiced  among  the  Village 
Indians  in  general  upon  a scale  then  unknown  in  other  oarts  of  the  world, 
because  they  alone  represented  the  culture  and  mode  of  life  of  the  Middle 


1 Incidents  of  Travel,  etc.,  ii,  14. 


266  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


Status  of  barbarism.  The  dinner  of  Montezuma,  before  considered,  is  an 
illustration. 

Near  Uxmal  are  the  interesting  ruins  of  £ayi,  which  present  a new 
feature  in  Yucatan  house  architecture.  Upon  a low  eminence  are  three 
independent  structures,  the  second  within  and  above  the  first  or  lowest,  and 
the  third  within  and  above  the  second,  presenting  the  appearance,  in  the 
distance,  of  a single  quadrangular  edifice  in  three  receding  stories.  But 
each  stands  on  a separate  terrace,  and  is  built  against  the  one  within,  which 
rises  above  it,  except  the  inner  one,  a single  edifice  occupying  the  summit. 
The  outer  quadrangle  stands  on  the  lowest  terrace.  The  measurements  of 
the  several  buildings  are  indicated  on  the  plan.  Together  they  contain 
eighty-seven  apartments,  assuming  the  parts  in  ruins  to  have  corresponded 
with  the  parts  preserved.  The  rooms,  as  usual,  are  either  single  or  in  pairs. 
An  external  staircase  upon  the  front  and  rear  sides  interrupts  the  buildings 
on  these  sides  from  the  lower  terrace  to  the  upper.  The  dots  in  the  aper- 
tures indicate  columns,  which  are  found  in  this  and  several  other  structures. 
In  case  of  attack,  the  outer  quadrangle  was  not  defensible;  but  its  inhabi- 
tants could  retire  to  the  second  terrace  above,  and 
defend  their  fortress  at  the  head  of  the  staircases, 
which  were  the  only  avenues  of  approach  except 
by  scaling  the  outer  quadrangle,  a very  improbable 
undertaking. 

Attention  has  been  called  to  this  pueblo,  which 
would  accommodate  two  thousand  or  more  persons, 
for  a special  reason.  It  seems  to  furnish  conclusive 
proof  of  the  manner  in  which  these  great  edifices 
were  erected  in  order  to  construct  the  peculiar  tri- 
angular stone  ceiling,  which  is  the  striking  char- 
acteristic of  this  architecture. 

To  understand  the  problem,  the  annexed  cross- 
section  of  a single  room  will  afford  some  aid  by 
showing  the  relations  of  the  walls  to  the  chamber  and  its  ceiling.  The 
chamber,  with  its  vaulted  ceiling,  was  constructed  over  a solid  core  of 
masonry,  laid  simultaneously  with  the  walls,  which  was  removed  after  the 


MORGAN.] 


UNREMOVED  CORE  FOUND  IN  A STRUCTURE. 


267 


latter  had  seasoned  and  settled.  It  tends  to  show  that  with  small  stones 
of  the  size  used,  about  a foot  long  and  six  inches  thick,  the  triangular 
ceiling  as  it  projected  toward  the  center  in  rising,  required  the  interior 
support  of  a core  to  insure  the  possibility  of  construction  by  their  methods. 
Once  put  together  over  such  a core  and  carried  up  several  feet  above  the  top 
of  the  arch,  the  down  weight  of  the  superincumbent  mass  would  articulate 
and  hold  the  masonry  together.  It  shows  further  that  the  essential  feature 
of  the  arch  is  wanting  in  this  contrivance. 

The  proof  of  this  assertion  is  found  in  the  actual  presence  of  the  unre- 
moved core  in  one  of  these  edifices  in  all  of  its  apartments.  Mr.  Stephens 
found  every  room  of  the  back  building  on  the  second  terrace  filled  with 
masonry  from  bottom  to  top,  left  precisely  as  it  was  when  the  building  was 
finished.  He  remarks  that  “the  north  half  of  the  second  range  has  a curious 
and  unaccountable  feature.  It  is  called  the  Casa  Cerrada , or  ‘closed  house,’ 
having  ten  doorways,  all  of  which  are  blocked  up  on  the  inside  with  stone 
and  mortar.  * * * In  front  of  several  were  piles  of  stones  which  they 

[his  workmen]  had  worked  out  from  the  doorways,  and  under  the  lintels 
were  holes  through  which  we  were  able  to  crawl  inside;  and  here  we  found 
ourselves  in  apartments  finished  with  walls  and  ceilings  like  all  the  others, 
but  filled  up,  except  so  far  as  they  had  been  emptied  by  the  Indians,  with 
solid  masses  of  mortar  and  stone.  There  were  ten  of  these  apartments  in 
all,  two  hundred  and  twenty  feet  long  and  ten  feet  deep,  which  thus  being 
filled  up  made  the  whole  building  a solid  mass ; and  the  strangest  feature 
was  that  the  filling  up  of  the  apartments  must  have  been  simultaneous  with 
the  erection  of  the  buildings;  for,  as  the  filling  in  rose  above  the  tops  of  the 
doorways,  the  men  who  performed  it  never  could  have  entered  to  their  work 
through  the  doors.  It  must  have  been  done  as  the  walls  were  built,  and 
the  ceiling  must  have  closed  over  a solid  mass.”1 

It  does  not  seem  to  have  occurred  to  Mr.  Stephens  that  the  masonry 
within  each  room  was  a core,  without  which  a vaulted  chamber  in  this  form 
could  not  have  been  constructed  with  their  knowledge  of  the  art  of  build- 
ing. It  shows  the  rudeness  of  their  mechanical  resources  as  well  as  the 
real  condition  of  the  art  among1  them,  but  at  the  same  time  increases  our 

o 7 


•Incidents  of  Travel,  etc.,  ii,  22. 


268  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


appreciation  of  their  originality,  ingenuity,  and  industry.  They  were 
working  their  way  upward  experimentally  in  architecture,  as  all  other 
peoples  have  done,  having  richly  earned  the  right  to  point  with  pride  to 
these  structures  as  extraordinary  memorials  of  the  progress  they  had  made. 

An  important  conclusion  follows,  namely,  that  this  “closed  house” 
was  the  last,  in  the  order  of  time,  erected  in  this  pueblo,  and  had  not  been 
emptied  of  its  core  and  brought  into  use  when  the  Spanish  irruption  forced 
the  people  to  abandon  this  pueblo.  It  would  fix  the  period  of  its  construc- 
tion at  or  after  A.  D.  1520,  thus  settling  the  question  of  its  modern  date  and 
removing  one  of  the  delusions  concerning  the  antiquity  of  the  ruins  in 
Yucatan  and  Central  America.  This  structure  is  as  much  decayed  as  any 
other  in  Yucatan.  There  are  many  other  structures  even  better  preserved 
than  this. 

A brief  reference  to  Palenque  will  conclude  this  notice,  but  without 
dealing  with  the  facts  as  fully  as  they  deserve.  There  are  four  or  five  pyra- 
midal elevations  at  this  pueblo  quite  similar  in  plan  and  general  situation 
with  those  at  Uxmal.  One  is  much  the  largest,  and  the  structures  upon  it 
are  called  the  “ Palace.”  It  has  generally  been  regarded  as  the  paragon  of 
American  Indian  architecture.  Asa  palace  implies  a potentate  for  its  occu- 
pation, a character  who  never  existed  and  could  not  exist  under  their  insti- 
tutions, it  has  been  a means  of  self-deception  with  respect  to  the  condition 
of  the  Aborigines  which  ought  to  be  permanently  discarded.  Several  dis- 
tinct buildings  are  here  grouped  upon  one  elevated  terrace,  and  are  more 
or  less  connected.  Altogether  they  are  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight  feet 
long,  front  and  rear,  and  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  deep,  occupying  not 
only  the  four  sides  of  a quadrangle,  but  the  greater  part  of  what  originally 
was,  in  all  probability,  an  open  court.  The  use  of  the  interior  court  for 
additional  structures  shows  a decadence  of  architecture  and  of  ethnic  life 
in  the  people,  because  it  implies  an  unwillingness  to  raise  a new  pyramidal 
site  to  gain  accommodations  for  an  increased  number  of  people.  Thus  to 
appropriate  the  original  court  so  essential  for  light  and  air  as  well  as  room, 
and  which  is  such  a striking  feature  in  the  general  plan  of  the  architecture 
of  the  Village  Indians,  was  a departure  from  the  principles  of  this  architect- 
ure. Nearly  all  the  edifices  in  Yucatan  and  Central  America  agree  in  one 


MORGAN.] 


SO-CALLED  PALACE  AT  PALENQUE. 


269 


particular,  namely,  in  being  constructed  with  three  parallel  walls  with  par- 
tition walls  at  intervals,  giving  two  rows  of  apartments  under  one  roof, 
usually,  if  not  invariably,  flat.  Where  several  are  grouped  together  on  the 
same  platform,  as  at  Palenque,  they  are  severally  under  independent  roofs, 
and  the  spaces  between,  called  courts,  are  simply  open  lanes  or  passage- 
ways between  the  structures.  An  inspection  of  the  ground  plan  of  the 
Palenque  ruins  in  the  folio  volume  of  Dupaix,  or  in  the  work  of  Mr.  Ste- 
phens, will  be  apt  to  mislead  unless  this  feature  of  the  architecture  is  kept 
in  mind  There  are  in  reality  seven  or  eight  distinct  edifices  crowded 
together  upon  the  summit  level  of  the  platform.  Mr.  Stephens  speaks  of  it 

as  one  structure.  “ The  building,”  he  remarks,  “was  constructed  of  stone, 

and  the  whole  front  was  covered  with  stucco  and  painted.  * * * The 

doorways  have  no  doors,  nor  are  there  the  remains  of  any.  * * * The 

tops  of  the  doorways  were  all  broken.  They  had  evidently  been  square, 
and  over  every  one  were  large  niches  in  the  wall  on  each  side,  in  which  the 
lintels  had  been  laid.  These  lintels  had  all  fallen,  and  the  stones  above 
formed  broken  natural  arches.”1  The  interior  walls  in  two  rooms  shown  by 
engravings  were  plastered  over.  Architecturally,  Palenque  is  inferior  to  the 
House  of  the  Nuns;  but  it  is  more  ornamental.  It  also  has  one  peculiar  fea- 
ture not  generally  found  in  the  Yucatan  structures,  namely,  a corridor  about 
nine  feet  wide,  supposed  to  have  run  around  the  greater  part  of  the  exterior 
on  the  four  sides.  The  exterior  walls  of  these  corridors  rest  on  a series  of 
piers,  and  the  central  or  next  parallel  wall  is  unbroken,  except  by  one  door- 
way on  each  of  three  sides  and  two  in  the  fourth,  thus  forming  a narrow 
promenade.  One  of  the  interior  buildings  consists  of  two  such  corridors, 
but  wider,  on  opposite  sides  of  a central  longitudinal  wall.  All  the  rooms 
in  the  several  edifices  are  large.  In  one  of  the  open  spaces  is  a tower 
about  thirty  feet  square,  rising  three  stories.  The  Palenque  structures  are 
quite  remarkable,  standing  upon  an  artificial  eminence  about  forty  feet  high, 
and  large  enough  to  accommodate  three  thousand  people  living  in  the  fash- 
ion of  Village  Indians. 

The  plan  of  these  houses,  as  well  as  of  those  in  Yucatan,  seems  to  show 
that  they  were  designed  to  be  occupied  by  groups  of  persons  composed  of 


‘Central  America,  &c.,  ii,  310-312. 


270  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


a number  of  families,  whose  private  boundaries  were  iixed  by  solid  parti- 
tion walls.  They  are  exactly  adapted  to  this  mode  of  occupation,  and  this 
special  adaptation,  so  plainly  impressed  upon  all  this  architecture,  leads 
irresistibly  to  the  conclusion  that  they  were  occupied  on  the  communal 
principle,  and  were,  consequently,  neither  more  nor  less  than  joint-tene- 
ment houses,  of  a model  which  may  be  called,  distinctively,  that  of  the 
American  aborigines.  None  of  these  edifices  are  as  large  as  those  on  the 
Rio  Chaco,  nor  does  either  of  them  possess  equal  accommodations  with 
the  Pueblo  Bonito,  which  possessed  six  hundred  and  forty  rooms.1  But  in 
this  warm  climate,  and  with  the  raised  terraces  used  as  gathering  places, 
more  persons  could  manage  to  live  in  equal  spaces. 

Each  structure,  or  group  of  structures,  thus  elevated,  was  a fortress. 
They  prove  the  insecurity  in  which  the  people  lived ; for  the  labor  involved 
in  constructing  these  platform  elevations,  in  part,  at  least,  artificial,  would 
never  have  been  undertaken  without  a powerful  motive.  One  of  the  chief 
blessings  of  civilization  is  the  security  which  a higher  organization  of  so- 
ciety gives  to  the  people,  under  the  protection  of  which  they  are  able  as 
cultivators  to  occupy  broad  areas  of  land.  In  the  Middle  Status  of  barba- 
rism they  were  compelled  to  live  generally  in  villages,  which  were  fortified 
in  various  ways ; and  each  village,  we  must  suppose,  was  an  independent, 
self-governing  community,  except  as  several  kindred  in  descent,  and  speak- 
ing the  same  dialect  or  dialects  of  the  same  language,  confederated  for 
mutual  protection.  An  impression  has  been  propagated  that  Palenque  and 
other  pueblos  in  these  regions  were  surrounded  by  dense  populations  living 
in  cheaply  constructed  tenements.  Having  assigned  the  structures  found, 
and  which  undoubtedly  were  all  that  ever  existed,  to  Indian  kings  or  poten- 
tates, the  question  might  well  be  asked,  if  such  palaces  were  provided  for  the 
rulers  of  the  land,  what  has  become  of  the  residences  of  the  people  ? Mr. 
Stephens  has  given  direct  countenance  to  this  preposterous  suggestion.2  In 
his  valuable  works  he  has  shown  a disposition  to  feed  the  flames  of  fancy 
with  respect  to  these  ruins.  After  describing  the  “palace,”  so  called,  at 
Palenque,  and  remarking  that  “the  whole  extent  of  ground  covered  by 


1 Lieutenant  Simpson’s  Report,  Senate  Ex.  Doc.,  1st  Sess.  31st  Congress,  1850,  p.  81. 

2 Central  America,  &c.,  ii,  235. 


MORGAN.] 


SO-CALLED  PALACE  AT  PALENQUE. 


271 


those  [ruins]  as  yet  known,  as  appears  by  the  plan,  is  not  larger  than  our 
Park  or  Battery”  [in  New  York],  he  proceeds:  “It  is  proper  to  add,  how- 
ever, that  considering  the  space  now  occupied  by  the  ruins  as  the  site  of 
palaces,  temples,  and  public  buildings,  and  supposing  the  houses  of  the  in- 
habitants to  have  been,  like  those  of  the  Egyptians  and  the  present  race  of 
Indians,  of  frail  and  perishable  materials  as  at  Memphis  and  Thebes,  to  have 
disappeared  altogether,  the  city  may  have  covered  an  immense  extent.”1 
This  is  a clear  case  of  suggestio  falsi  by  Mr.  Stephens,  who  is  usually  so 
careful  and  reliable  and,  even  here,  so  guarded  in  his  language.  He  had 
fallen  into  the  mistake  of  regarding  these  remains  as  a city  in  ruins,  instead 
of  a small  Indian  pueblo  in  ruins.  But  he  had  furnished  a general  ground 
plan  of  all  the  ruins  found  of  the  Palenque  pueblo,  which  made  it  plain  that 
four  or  five  structures  upon  pyramidal  platforms  at  some  distance  from  each 
other,  with  the  whole  space  over  which  they  were  scattered  about  equal  to 
the  Battery,  made  a poor  show  for  a city.  The  most  credulous  reader 
would  readily  perceive  that  it  was  a misnomer  to  call  them  the  ruins  of  a 
city;  wherefore  the  suggestions  of  Mr.  Stephens,  that  “ considering  the  space 
now  occupied  by  the  ruins  as  the  site  of  palaces,  temples,  and  public  build- 
ings, and  supposing  the  houses  of  the  inhabitants  * * * of  frail  and 

perishable  materials  to  have  disappeared  * * * the  city  may  have 

covered  an  immense  extent.”  That  Mr.  Stephens  himself  considered  or 
supposed  either  to  be  true  may  have  been  the  case,  but  it  seems  hardly 
supposable,  and  in  either  event  he  is  responsible  for  the  false  coloring  thus 
put  upon  those  ruins,  and  the  deceptive  inferences  drawn  from  them. 

These  structures  are  highly  creditable  to  the  intelligence  of  their 
builders,  and  can  be  made  to  reveal  the  manner  of  their  use  and  the 
actual  progress  they  had  made  in  the  arts  of  life ; but  they  never  can 
be  rationally  explained  while  such  wild  views  are  entertained  concerning 
them.  Until  the  actual  character  and  signification  of  these  ruins  are  made 
known,  such  opinions  may  be  expected  to  prevail  concerning  them.  They 
spring  from  the  assumed  existence  of  a state  of  society  far  enough  advanced 
to  develop  potentates  and  privileged  classes,  with  power  to  enforce  labor 
from  the  people  for  personal  objects.  There  is  no  evidence  whatever  in 


1 Incidents  of  Travel,  Central  America,  Chiapas  and  Yucatan,  ii,  355. 


272  nOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


support  of  such  au  assumption.  It  is  quite  probable  that  small  numbers 
belonging  io  every  pueblo  lived  a portion  of  the  year  in  the  forests  in  tem- 
porary habitations,  engaged  in  cultivation,  or  in  hunting  and  fishing;  but 
enough  is  known  from  the  brief  accounts  of  the  early  explorers  to  show  us 
that  the  body  of  the  inhabitants  of  Yucatan  and  Central  America  were 
gathered  in  pueblos  or  villages.  Moreover,  they  were  animated  by  the 
same  spirit  as  the  Cibolans  in  what  related  to  personal  independence.  Rather 
than  live  in  subjection  to  Spanish  taskmasters,  the  very  Indians  who  erected 
these  houses  with  so  much  labor,  as  Coronado  states  of  the  Cibolans,  “ Set 
in  order  all  their  goods  and  substance,  their  women  and  children,  and  fled 
to  the  hills,  leaving  their  towns,  as  it  were,  abandoned,”  1 preferring  a return 
to  a lower  stage  of  barbarism  rather  than  a loss  of  personal  freedom.  In 
1524  Cortez  sent  an  officer  “to  reduce  the  people  of  Chiapas,  who  had 
revolted,  which  that  commander  effectually  performed,  for,  when  they  could 
resist  no  longer,  these  desperate  wretches  cast  themselves  with  their  wives 
and  children  headlong  from  precipices,  so  that  not  above  two  thousand  of 
them  remained,  whose  offspring  inhabit  that  province  at  this  time.”2  The 
inhabitants  of  Palenque  may  have  been  included  in  this  description. 

The  profiles  of  the  Palenque  Indians,  copied  by  Stephens  from  repre- 
sentations in  plaster  in  different  parts  of  the  several  structures,  show  that 
they  were  flat-heads,  like  the  Chinook  Indians  of  the  Columbia  River;  their 
foreheads  having  been  flattened  by  artificial  compression.  Herrera,  speaking 
generally  of  the  inhabitants  of  Yucatan,  remarks,  “ that  the}7  flattened  their 
heads  and  foreheads..”3  Whether  it  was  a general  practice  does  not  appear, 
aside  from  the  Palenque  monuments,  and  the  off-hand  statement  of  Herrera. 

Another  important  question  still  remains,  namely,  whether  or  not  the 
Indians  of  Yucatan  and  Central  America  had  reached  the  first  stage  of 
scientific  architecture,  the  use  of  the  post  and  lintel  of  stone  as  a principle 
of  construction  in  stone  masonry.  The  Egyptians  used  the  post  and  lintel, 
whence  their  architecture  has  been  characterized  as  the  horizontal.  The 
Greeks  did  not  get  beyond  this,  although  they  brought  in  the  three  orders 
of  architecture.  The  round  and  the  pointed  arch,  used  as  principles  of 
construction,  with  all  they  gave  to  architecture,  were  beyond  even  the 


Herrera,  History  of  America,  iii,  346,  cf.  348, 


3 lb.,  iv,  169. 


3Ib.,  iv,  169. 


MORGAN.] 


ARCHITECTURE  BELOW  SCIENTIFIC  STAGE. 


273 


Greeks.  Speaking  of  tlie  Governor’s  House,  Mr.  Stephens  remarks,  that 
“the  doors  are  all  gone,  and  the  wooden  lintels  over  them  have  fallen.”1 
In  some  of  the  inner  apartments,  the  lintels  were  still  in  place  over  the 
doorways,  and  some  were  lying  on  the  floor,  sound  and  solid,  which  latter 
condition  was  no  doubt  owing  to  their  being  more  sheltered  than  those  over 
the  outer  doorway.”2  The  same  is  true  of  the  House  of  the  Nuns,  and  of 
a number  of  other  structures  figured  and  described  in  Mr.  Stephens’  works. 
But  lintels  of  stone  are  found  in  some  houses.  Thus,  of  one  of  the  build- 
ings at  Kabah,  he  says:  “ The  lintels  over  the  doors  are  of  stone.”3  In  this 
case  there  was  a stone  column  in  the  middle  of  the  doorway,  and  the  lintel 
was  in  two  sections.  Norman,  speaking  of  the  ruins  at  Chichen  Itza, 
remarks  that  the  “ doorways  are  nearly  a square  of  about  seven  feet,  some- 
what resembling  the  Egyptian  ; the  sides  of  which  are  formed  of  large 
blocks  of  hewn  stone.  In  some  instances  the  lintels  are  of  the  same 
material.”4  The}’  used  sapote  wood  usually  for  lintels,  a wood  remarkable 
for  its  solidity  and  durability.  It  may  safely  be  said  that  the  lintel  of 
wood  was  the  rule  in  Yucatan,  and  not  the  exception.  While  they  under- 
stood the  use  of  the  stone  lintel,  which  alone  was  capable  of  affording  a 
durable  structure,  its  common  and  ordinary  use  was  beyond  their  ability. 
The  use  of  stone  of  the  size  required  overmatched  their  ability  in  stone 
masonry,  as  a rule.  It  cannot,  therefore,  be  said  that  the  post  and  lintel 
of  stone  became  a principle  of  construction  in  their  architecture.  As  the 
Mayas,  who  constructed  these  edifices,  were  in  the  Middle  Status  of  barba- 
rism, it  was  not  to  have  been  expected  that  their  architecture  would  reach 
the  scientific  stage. 

American  aboriginal  history  and  ethnology  have  been  perverted,  and 
even  caricatured  in  various  ways,  and,  among  others,  by  a false  terminology, 
which  of  itself  is  able  to  vitiate  the  truth.  When  we  have  learned  to  ; de- 
stitute Indian  confederacy  for  Indian  kingdom ; Teuchtli,  or  head  war- 
chief,  sachem,  and  chief,  for  king,  prince,  and  lord;  Indian  villages  in  the 
place  of  “ great  cities”;  communal  houses  for  “palaces,”  and  democratic 
for  monarchic  institutions ; together  with  a number  of  similar  substitu- 
tions of  appropriate  for  deceptive  and  improper  terms,  the  Indian  of  the 

1 Incidents  of  Travel  in  Yucatan,  i,  175.  -Ib.,  p.  178.  3Ib.,  i,398.  4 Rambles  in  Yucatan,  p.  US, 

18 


274  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


past  and  present  will  be  presented  understanding^ , and  placed  in  liis  true 
position  in  the  scale  of  human  advancement.  While  the  Aryan  family  has 
lost  nearly  all  traces  of  its  experiences  anterior  to  the  closing  period  of 
barbarism,  the  Indian  family,  in  its  different  branches,  offered  for  our 
investigation  not  only  the  state  of  savagery,  but  also  that  of  both  the 
opening  and  of  the  middle  period  of  barbarism  in  full  and  ample  develop- 
ment. The  American  aborigines  had  enjoyed  a continuous  and  undisturbed 
progress  upon  a great  continent,  through  two  ethnical  periods,  and  the  lat- 
ter part  of  a previous  period,  on  a remarkable  scale.  If  the  opportunity 
had  been  wisely  improved,  a rational  knowledge  of  the  experience  of  our 
own  ancestors,  while  in  the  same  status,  might  have  been  gained  through  a 
study  of  these  progressive  conditions.  Beside  this,  before  a science  of 
ethnology  applied  to  the  American  aborigines  can  come  into  existence,  the 
misconceptions,  and  erroneous  interpretations  which  now  encumber  the 
original  memorials  must  be  removed.  Unless  this  can  in  some  way  be 
effectually  accomplished,  this  science  can  never  be  established  among  us. 

Our  ethnography  was  initiated  for  us  by  European  investigators,  and 
corrupted  in  its  foundation  from  a misconception  of  the  facts.  The  few 
Americans  who  have  taken  up  the  subject  have  generally  followed  in  the 
same  track,  and  intensified  the  original  errors  of  interpretation  until  romance 
has  swept  the  field.  Whether  it  is  possible  to  commence  anew,  and  retrieve 
what  has  been  lost,  I cannot  pretend  to  determine.  It  is  worth  the  effort. 

Finally,  with  respect  to  the  condition  and  structures  of  the  Village 
Indians  of  Yucatan  and  Central  America,  the  following  conclusions  may  be 
stated  as  reasonable  from  the  facts  presented:1 

1 Whether  the  Indian  tribes  of  any  part  of  North  America  had  learned  to  quarry  stone  to  use  for 
building  purposes,  is  still  a question.  In  New  Mexico  there  is  no  evidence  that  they  quarried  stone. 
They  picked  up  and  used  such  stones  as  were  found  in  broken  masses  at  the  base  of  cliffs,  or  as  were 
found  on  the  surface  and  could  be  easily  removed  from  their  bed.  In  Ceutral  America,  if  anywhere 
they  must  have  quarried  stone,  in  the  strict  sense  of  this  term,  but  as  yet  there  is  no  decisive  evidence 
of  the  fact.  It  will  be  necessary  to  find  the  quarries  from  which  the  stones  were  taken,  with  such  evi- 
dence of  their  having  been  worked  as  these  quarries  may  exhibit.  The  stones  used  in  the  edifices  in 
Yucatan  and  Central  America  are  represented  as  a “soft  coralline  limestone,”  and,  in  some  cases,  as  in 
that  of  the  Copan  Idols,  so  called,  of  a “soft  grit  stone.”  It  requires  the  application  of  more  than 
ordinary  intelligence  and  skill  to  quarry  stone,  even  of  this  character.  The  native  tribes  had  no 
metals  except  native  copper  gold  and  silver,  and  these  were  without  the  hardness  requisite  for  a lever 
or  chisel ; and  they  had  no  explosives  to  use  in  blasting.  Other  agencies  may  have  been  used.  We 
find  the  stone  lintel  for  the  doorway  beyond  their  ability  for  ordinary  use,  and  that  for  the  want  of  it, 
they  were  unable  to  erect  permanent  structures  in  stone.  The  art  of  quarrying  stone  is  gained  by 


MORGAN.] 


HAD  INDIANS  LEARNED  TO  QUARRY  STONE. 


275 


First:  That  the  Family  among  them  was  too  weak  an  organization 
to  face  alone  the  struggle  of  life,  and  therefore  sheltered  itself  in  large 
households,  composed  probably  of  related  families. 

Second:  That  they  were  probably  organized  in  gentes,  and,  as  a con- 
sequence, were  broken  up  into  independent  tribes,  with  confederacies  here 
and  therefor  mutual  protection;  and  that  their  institutions  were  essentially 
democratic. 

Third:  That  from  the  plan  and  interior  arrangement  of  these  houses 
the  practice  of  communism  in  living  in  households  may  be  inferred. 

Fourth:  That  the  people  were  Village  Indians  in  the  Middle  Status 
of  barbarism;  living  in  a single  joint-tenement  house  or  in  several  such 
houses  grouped  together,  and  forming  one  pueblo. 

Fifth:  That  hospitality  and  communism  in  living  were  laws  of  their 
condition,  which  found  expression  in  the  form  of  the  houses,  which  were 
adapted  to  communism  in  living  in  large  households 

Sixth:  That  all  there  ever  was  of  Uxmal,  Palenque,  Copan,  and  other 
pueblos  in  these  areas,  building  for  building,  and  stone  for  stone,  are  there 
now  in  ruins. 

Seventh:  That  nothing  herein  stated  is  inconsistent  with  the  suppo- 
sition that  some  of  these  structures  were  devoted  to  religious  uses. 

Finally:  That  a common  principle  runs  through  all  this  architecture, 
from  the  Columbia  River  and  the  Saint  Lawrence,  to  the  Isthmus  of  Pana- 
ma, namely,  that  of  adaptation  to  communism  in  living. 

When  we  attempt  to  understand  the  “Palace  at  Palenque”  or  the 
Grovernor’s  House  at  Uxmal,  as  the  residences  of  Indian  potentates,  they 
are  wholly  unintelligible;  but  as  communal  joint-tenement  houses,  embody- 

maukind  before  civilization  is  gained,  bat  it  must  commence  in  rnde  form  before  more  effective  means 
are  discovered  through  experience.  If  any  of  the  American  Indian  tribes  had  advanced  to  this  knowl- 
edge, and  possessed  the  skill  and  ability  to  quarry  stone,  it  is  important  that  the  fact  should  be  estab- 
lished, and  that  they  should  have  credit  for  the  progress  in  knowledge  implied  by  this  skill  and  ability. 
Dressed  stone  from  the  walls  at  Uxmal,  Palenque,  and  elsewhere  in  Yucatan  and  Central  America 
should  be  proved  by  applying  the  square  to  find  whether  a level  surface  and  a true  angle  were  formed 
upon  them.  It  should  also  he  ascertained  whether  the  walls  are  truly  vertical,  and  also  whether  they 
had  learned  to  make  a mortar  of  quicklime  and  sand.  Before  our  adventurous  writers  use  in  connection 
with  our  native  tribes  and  their  works  such  terms  as  “ civilization,  great  cities,  palaces,  and  temples ,”  and 
apply  such  imposing  titles  as  “ king,  prince,  and  lord'”  to  Indian  chiefs,  they  should  be  prepared  to  show 
that  some  at  least  of  their  tribes  had  learned  the  use  of  wells  and  how  to  dig  them,  and  bow  to  quarry 
stone  ; to  prepare  a mortar  of  lime  and  sand  ; to  form  a right  angle  and  a level  face  upon  a stone,  and 
lay  up  vertical  walls.  These  necessary  acquisitions  precede  the  first  beginnings  of  civilization. 


276  HOUSES  AND  HOUSE-LIFE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES. 


ing  the  social,  the  defensive,  and  the  communal  principles,  we  can  under- 
stand how  they  could  have  been  created,  and  so  elaborately  and  laboriously 
finished.  It  is  evident  that  they  were  the  work  of  the  people,  constructed 
for  their  own  enjoyment  and  protection.  Enforced  labor  never  created 
them  On  the  contrary,  it  is  the  charm  of  all  these  edifices,  roomy,  and 
tasteful  and  remarkable  as  they  are,  that  they  were  raised  by  the  Indians 
for  their  own  use,  with  willing  hands,  and  occupied  by  them  on  terms  of 
entire  equality.  Liberty,  equality,  and  fraternity  are  emphatically  the 
three  great  principles  of  the  gens,  and  this  architecture  responds  to  these 
sentiments.  And  it  is  highly  creditable  to  the  Indian  mind  that  while  in 
the  Middle  Status  of  barbarism  they  had  developed  the  capacity  to  plan, 
and  the  industry  to  rear,  structures  of  such  architectural  design  and  impos- 
ing magnitude. 

I have  now  submitted  all  I intended  to  present  with  respect  to  the 
house  architecture  of  the  American  aborigines.  It  covers  but  a small  part 
of  a great  subject.  As  a key  to  the  interpretation  of  this  architecture,  two 
principles,  the  practice  of  hospitality  and  the  practice  of  communism  in 
living,  have  been  employed.  They  seem  to  afford  a satisfactory  explana- 
tion of  its  peculiar  features  in  entire  harmony  with  Indian  institutions. 
Should  the  general  reader  be  able  to  acquiesce  in  this  interpretation,  it 
will  lead  to  a reconstruction  of  our  aboriginal  history,  now  so  imperatively 
demanded. 


INDEX 


A. 

Abort,  J.  W.,  cited 

Aboriginal  history  perverted 

Acosta,  J.  de,  cited 

Adair,  J. , cited 

Adobe  houses,  ruins  of 

mortar 

Aleuts,  communal  dwellings 

hospitality  of  the 

Altars,  Mound-Builders’ 

Amidas,  P 

Ancient  society,  uniformity  in  the  plan  of . . . 

Anonymous  Conqueror 

Arroyo  pueblo - 

Arickarees 

Athenian  tribes,  coalesence  of  

Atolli 

Aztec  Confederacy 

Aztecs,  cremation  among  the 

eating  customs  of  the 

extravagant  accounts  concerning  the 

governmental  institutions  of  the 

houses  of  the 

social  system  of  the 


Page. 

136 

273 

194,226 

54,  68,  100, 103 

189 

177 

71 

53 

216 

47 

1 

234 

164 

125,130 

34 

101 

23 

220 

101 


226 
222,  256 
222,  226 


B. 


Bachofen,  Professor 121 

Bancroft,  H.  H 223 

cited  - 235,  245 

Bandelier,  A.  F.,  cited 84, 186,  232,  233,  249 

Barlow,  Arthur - . 47 

Bartram,  John,  cited 46,123 

Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  C.  E 223,  224 


C. 

Calpulli 81 

Caribs,  communal  dwellings  of  the 76 

houses  of  the 229 

Carver,  J.,  cited  54,72,113 

Casa  Cerrada  or  closed  house 267 

Castafieda,  S.  de  57.,  cited 204 

Catlin,  G-.,  cited 50, 72, 100, 102 

Champlain,  S.  de,  cited ...  124 

Chiapas,  village  of 252 

Chickasas,  gentes  and  phratries 6 

Chilluckitlequaw,  hospitality  of  the 53 

Chimneys,  absence  of 183 


unknown  in  Yucatan  andCentral  America  183 


Page. 

Chinooks,  houses  of  the Ill 

Chocta,  gentes  and  phratries 15 

Chopunish,  houses  of  the ...  110 

1 Cibola,  Seven  Cities  of 129, 167 

site  of  the  170 

Clahclellahs,  houses  of  the Ill 

Clan,  the  Scottish 1 

Clarke,  J.  S 124 

Clatsops,  houses  of  the Ill 

Clavigero,  F.  S.,  cited 101,178 

Columbus,  Christopher 76 

Communal  dwellings 64,  67,  68,  70,  71,  72,  73,  76,  85 

of  tribes  in  Lower  Status  of  bar- 
barism   113 

of  tribes  in  savagery 106 

of  Village  Indians  of  Hew 

Mexico 136 

Communism  among  ancient  Mexicans 232 

in  living 63 

in  relation  to  dwellings 63 

Confederacies,  origin  of  24 

Confederacy  confined  to  a common  language 24 

Iroquois.  See  Iroquois  Confederacy. 

of  the  Aztecs  23,  24 

Creek 23 

Dakota 23 

Moki 23 


Ottawa 23 

the  nearest  analogue  of  nation 18 

I Copan  grave  posts 257 

idols 257 

Coronado,  F.  V.,  cited  129, 135, 167,  205 

Core  used  in  the  architecture  of  Yucatan 267 

Cortez,  F 223,232 

cited 59,  240 

Cones,  E.,  cited - 195 

Creek  Confederacy 23 

Creek  Indians,  communal  dwellings  of  the  68 

Crees 115 

Cremation  among  Mound-Builders 215 

practice  of,  among  the  Aztecs 220 

Mayas 220 

Tlasealans - - . 220 

Crossman,  Captain,  cited 130 

Culture  periods 43 

Curia,  the  Bom  an 14 

I Cutler,  J.  G- 210 


277 


278 


INDEX 


D. 

Dakota  League 

lodge  described 

Dakotans,  communism  of  the 

Dali,  W.  II.,  cited 

Dankers,  Jasper,  cited 

Delawares,  communism  of  the 

eating  customs  of  the 

hospitality  of  the 

Descent  in  female  line  in  archaic  period 

De  Soto,  Hernando,  cited  — 

Diaz,  Bernal,  cited 178,  22.?, 

Dwellings,  communal.  See  Communial  dwellings. 

E. 

Earth  works,  object  of  the 

size  of  the 

Embankments  as  base  of  houses 

Emory,  General  W.  H.,  cited 

Eskimos 

Ethnic  or  culture,  periods 

Exaggerations  in  the  accounts  of  the  ancient  Mexicans 

F. 

Feudalism,  absence  of  in  America 

Food,  joint  ownership  in 

Foster,  J.  W 

Frontenac,  L.  de  B 

Funeral  practice,  organization  at 

G. 

Galbraith,  F.  G 

Garcilasso  de  la  Yega 

Gardens,  artificial 

Gens,  archaic  form 

as  it  exists  among  American  aborigines 

founded  upon  kin 

intermarriage  in,  prohibited 

Iroquois 

rights,  privileges,  and  obligations  . . 

number  of  persons  in 

rights,  privileges,  and  obligations  of 

stages  of  development 

the 

the  Greek 

the  Latin 

the  Sanskrit  

Gentes  and  tribes  formed  by  natural  growth 

Chickasas 

Chocta 

Dakotan 

Iroquois,  number  of 

list  of 

Maya 

Mohegan * 

named  after  animals 

Ojibwa 

Omaha 

similar  in  different  tribes. 

Thlinkit 

transfer  of,  between  phratries  

Gentile  organization 

society  distinguished  from  political 

Gorman,  S.,  cited 


Page. 

Government,  growth  of  the  idea  of 31 

plan  of,  among  American  aborigines ...  4 

stages  in  the  development  of  ........ . 21 

Governor’s  House 256 

Granganimeo 47 

Grave  posts  of  chiefs  257 

Greenbalgh 64 

cited 119 

Grenville,  R 115 

Grijalva,  J.,  cited 59 

Guerra,  C.,  cited 59 

Gyneocracy  among  tbe  Iroquois 66, 121 

H. 

Halls  unknown  in  Indian  architecture 236 

Hayden,  F.  V . . . 135 

Heckewelder,  J.,  cited 49,  73, 100 

Heffernan  ...  188 

Herrera,  A.  dc,  cited 58,  59,  60,  7G,  77, 103, 178, 195,  228,  229, 

230,  232,  234,  238,  242,  252,  255 

Hiawatha 27 

High-Bank  puebl.  described 207 

Hindus,  communal  customs  among  the  122 

Hospitality  general  among  Indians  of  America 56,  60,  61 

law  of 42, 44, 45 

of  the  Aleuts 53 

Delawares 46 

Indians  of  California 53 

Mexico,  Central  and 

South  America 58 

Ohio 49 

South  America 5 

Carolina 48 

the  Columbia 52 

Northwest  54 

Iroquois 45, 119 

Mandans 50 

Mayas 59 

Nez  Percds 5 

North  Carolina  Indians 47 

Onondagas 46 

Pimas 57 

Southern  Indians  54 

tribes  of  the  Missouri 50 

Upper  Mississippi  ...  53 

"Village  Indians  of  New  Mexico  ..  56 

House  architecture  modified  by  climate 206 

Household,  number  of  persons  in  73 

House  life  of  the  Indians  199 

of  the  Dwarf 256 

Nuns  at  Uxmal 207,  231,  256 

Old  Woman 256 

Pigeon 256 

Turtle 256 

Houses  of  Central  America 236 

capacity  of  the 70 

of  Indian  tribes  north  of  New  Mexico 104 

the  Aztecs 222,  256 

California  Indians 106 

Caribs  229 

Chinooks Ill 

Chopunish 110 

Clahelellahs 171 

Clatsops  Ill 

Indians  of  Columbia  Valley 112 


Page. 

23 

114 

72 

53 

118 

73 

100 

46 

r 

48 

232,  239 

204 

213 

209 

57, 130 

250 

43 

222 

98 

99 

215 

123 

13 

149 

76 

86 

5 

3 

3 

r 

6 

7 

9 

6 

3 

2 

2 

2 

19 

10 

15 

8 

11 

7 

8 

16 

7 

8 

8 

20 

17 

11 

3 

4 

74 


INDEX. 


279 


Page. 

Houses  of  the  Kutchin 109 

Makah  Indians 112 

Mandans  and  Minnetarees 125 

Marieoj>as  and  Mohaves  130 

Nyack  Indians 118 

Pueblo  Taos  182 

Hxmal 256 

Tillage  Indians 104,132 

Virginia  Indians 115 

ruins  of,  in  Yucatan  and  Central  America. . . 251 

safe  against  Indian  assault  213 

Howitt,  A.  W..  on  Australian  customs 70 

I. 

Idols  at  Copan 257 

Indian  society  unlike  European 225 

Indians,  house  life  of  the 199 

of  Mexico  and  Central  America,  communal 

dwellings  of  the 75 

tenure  of  lands 84 

New  Mexico,  communal  dwellings  of  the.  74 

land  customs  of  the  82 

Northwest  coast,  communal  dwellings  of 

the 70 

Peru,  communism  of  the 77 

Southern,  communal  dwellings  of  the 68 

eating  customs  of  the 100 

Inheritance,  customs  of 94 

Troquoisfcommunal  dwellings  of  the 64 

communion  araoDg 65 

confederacy 23 

cohesive  principles  of  33 

democratic 40 

founded  on  kinship 33 

general  features  of  the 28 

or  igin  of  the  27 

seat  of  the  central  tribes  35 

Council,  annual  meeting  of  the 35 

decisions  of  the 37 

objects  of  tho 35 

eating  customs  of  the 99, 102, 121 

gens 6 

rights,  privileges,  and  obligations 7 

gentes,  number  of  the  11 

list  of  the  7 

hospitality  of  the  45 

bouses  of  the,  described 120 

lands  of  the 80 

Long-House 31,  34, 120 

migration  of  the 25 

mother  l ights  66 

number  of,  in  existence 26 

number  of  the 26 

phratries  19 

phratry,  functions  and  uses 11 

objects  of  the 11 

sachemships  of  the 29 

table  of  the 30 

sachems,  names  bestowed  upon 32 

tribal  epithets 36 

government 32 

war  chiefs 38 

Ives,  J.  C.,  cited 56, 141, 144 

J. 

Jackson,  W.  H 155, 162, 171 


cited 158, 164, 165 


Page. 

Jaramillo,  Juan,  cited 135, 169, 205 

Joliet,  L 53 

Jones,  S.,  cited 109 

Jose,  J 152 

Jus  gent  ilici  urn 7 

K. 

Kern  161 

Kinship,  rights  and  duties  of,  among  the  Aztecs 250 

rights,  duties,  and  obligations  of 250 

Kin  the  basis  of  gentes. , 3 

Kootenays 69 

Kutchin,  houses  of  the 109 

L. 

Lands,  division  of 89 

of  the  Iroquois 80 

ownership  of,  in  common 79,  85 

severalty 81 

of  Village  Indians,  rights  in 149 

tenure  of,  among  ancient  Mexicans 84 

Languages,  stock,  number  of 20 

great  number  of,  among  American 

aborigines 20 

verbal,  incapable  of  permanence 19 

Lapham,  J.  A 203 

Las  Casas,  B.  de,  cited  253 

Latin  and  Sabine  gentes,  coalescence  of 34 

Lewis  and  Clarke,  cited 50,  51,  52,  53,  70, 110,  111 

Lintels  of  Pueblos  of  Mexico . . 181 

wood  and  stone  273 

Lolsel , 106 

Long-House  of  the  Iroquois  described 120 

Onondaga  described 123 

symbol  of  the  Iroquois  Confederacy 34 

M. 

Maine 122 

Maize-  indigenous  to  America 193 

Makah  Indians,  houses  of  the 112 

Mandan  drying  scaffolds 128 

houses,  interior  of  the 127 

ladders  192 

Mandans,  communal  dwellings  of  the  72 

eating  customs  of  the  — . — 100 

hospitality  of  the 50 

houses  of  the 125,  210 

Marcos,  Friar 170 

Male  labor,  first  appearance  of 128 

Maricopas,  houses  of  the 130 

Marquette,  J.,  cited — 53,  54 

Marsh,  O.  C 202 

Maximilian,  Prince  - 120 

Mayas,  communism  in  living 204 

of  the - 75 

cremation  among 220 

gentes  of  tho 8 

hospitality  of  the 59 

of  Yucatan £20 

Meals,  customs  relating  to - 99 

separation  of  the  sexes  at 102 

Mexican  houses,  size  of  the 232 

usually  two  stories  high 229 

land  ownership,  conclusions  concerning  . ..  97 

Mexicans,  ancient  inheritance  among  95 


280 


INDEX 


Page. 

Mexican  tribes,  migration  of  the 194 

Mexico,  pueblo  of 84,  222,  228 

council-house 88 

largest  in  America. 238 

Migration  of  the  Iroquois 25 

Migrations  occur  through  physical  causes 196 

Miller,  I).  J.,  cited 82, 135, 147, 152 

Minnetarees,  houses  of  the. 125,  210 

Mislionginivi,  pueblo  of,  described 141 

Mitchell,  H.  L 188 

Mobaves,  houses  of  the 130 

Mohegan  gentes  and  phratries 16 

Moki  confederacy 23 

house,  interior 143 

Pueblos 141 

Montezuma ....  222 

a war  chief 248 

house  of 225 

Montezuma’s  dinner  227,  237 

palace 234 

Mortal',  use  of  among  American  Indians  177 

Mound-Builders  193 

arts  and  industries  of  the 200,  219 

circular  inclosures  of  the 214 

cremation  among  tho 215 

derived  from  Village  Indians  of 

New  Mexico 193 

earth-works,  uses  of 202 

houses  of  the 198 

in  Middle  Status  of  barbarism 199 

migrations  of  the 201 

migrations  of,  affected  by  climate  . - 201 

modification  of  house  architecture  . 206 

probable  number  of 218 

probably  derived  from  New  Mexico.  201 

social  organization  of  the 215 

structures  of,  in  Ohio 207 

Mound,  Grave  Creek 215 

Mounds  at  Mound  City 216 

Murphy,  H.  C 118 

N. 

Nation,  a coalition  of  tribes 18 

National  Assembly,  functions  of 22 

Ncerchokioo 110 

Nez  Percds,  hospitality  of  the 51 

Norman,  B.  M.,  cited 179,257,273 

Nyack  Indians,  houses  of  the 11 

O. 

Ojibwa  gentes 8 

lodge,  description  of 113 

Omaha  gentes  8 

Onondaga,  Long-House  of  the,  described  123 

Onondagas,  hospitality  of  the  46 

Onondaga  village  described 124 

Organization,  social  and  governmental 1 

Otoes 115,  257 

Ottawa  confederacy 23 

Ownership  of  lands  in  severalty 81 

P. 

Palenque  architecture 269 

so-called  palace  of  the 268 

Parker,  William,  a Seneca  chief 65 


Page. 

Peru,  tenure  of  lands  in 91 

Phrara  of  the  Albanians 1 

Phratric  organization  at  funerals 13 

Phratries,  Chickasa 16 

Chocta 15 

composed  of  kindred  gentes  11 

Mohegan  ....  16 

of  the  Iroquois i0 

Thlinkit 17 

Phratry,  existence  of  the,  in  Mexico  and  Central 

America  14 

in  tho  military  organization  ..  15 

Iroquois,  functions  and  uses 11 

objects  of 11 

marriage  in  the 10 

older  than  the  confederacy 11 

the  9 • 

Pimas,  hospitality  of  the  57 

Plant  life  in  the  Eocky  Mountains 193 

Pomeiock,  village  of,  described 115 

Powell,  J.  W 135 

Poweis,  Stephen,  cited  53, 106,  107 

Powhatan  Indians,  communal  dwellings  of  the 67 

Prescott.  W.  H 224 

Pueblo  of  Chetro  Kettle,  size  of  the 214 

Mexico  84,  222,  228 

Pueblos,  number  of  persons  in 204 

of  North  America,  number  of  inhabitants. . 231 

Yucatan  and  Central  America,  popula- 
tion of 251 

size  of 203 

Q- 

Quatmozin 59 

Quelenes  - - 252 

E. 

Ealeigh,  Sir  Walter 47 

Eeligious  beliefs 151 

seclusion 153 

Eights  ill  lands  among  the  Indians  of  Taos  ...  149 

Eobertson,  cited  102 

Eound  towers 119 

Euins,  east  of  the  Eio  Grande  186 

in  McElmo  Canon  189 

the  San  Juan  district 192 

near  base  of  Ute  Mountain 190 

in  Mexico 186 

of  houses  in  Now  Mexico  154 

the  pueblo  of  Bonito 156,163 

llungo  Pavie 156, 160 

Alto  166 

Chetro  Kettle 161 

Penasc.a  Blanca 165 

Pintado 156 

Una  Vida 160 

Wegegi 159 

Zayi 178 

Arroyo 164 

on  the  Animas  Eiver  172 

outline  plan 

of 185 

S. 

Sachems  of  the  Iroquois,  names  bestowed  upon 32 

Sachemships  of  the  Iroquois  Confederacy 26 

table  of 30 


INDEX 


281 


Page. 

Sahagun,  B.  do,  cited, 103 

Sandhill  crane 195 

San  Juan  district,  ancient  occupation  of  the 192 

geographic  relations  of  tho 196 

Talley,  altitude  of 193 

Santo  Domingo,  pueblo  of  136 

Sauks,  communal  dwellings  of  the 73 

Schurz,  Carl 30 

Secotan,  village  of,  described 116 

Seneca-Iroquois.  See  Iroquois. 

Sen  el 193 

Sept,  the  Irish 1 

Shawnees,  removal  of  the 81 

Shoshones,  hospitality  of  the 53 

Sibley  tent,  aboriginal  origin  of  the 115 

Simpson.  J.  H 171, 184 

cited  155,156,162 

Sitgreave,  L 130 

Sluyter,  Peter,  cited  . 118 

Smet,  P.  J.  de 69 

Smith,  John,  cited 67, 117 

Social  and  governmental  organization 1 

Society,  organization  of 39 

Sokulks,  commercial  dwellings  of  the 70 

Spanish  accounts  of  Aztec  society 223 

histories,  how  they  should  he  regarded 227 

Squire,  E.  G.,  cited 216 

Squire  and  Davis,  cited - 202,  208 

Steck,  M 145 

Stephens,  J.  L.,  cited 75, 178,  254,  257,  259,  264, 269, 270,  273 

Stevenson,  J 137 

Stevenson,  Mrs.  J.,  description  of  Zufii,  by 137 

Stones  of  Pueblo  dwellings 179 

Swan,  C 68 

Swan,  J.  G.,  cited 112 

Symbol  of  the  Iroquois  Confederacy 31,  34 

Syndyasmian  family 5 

T. 

Taos,  houses  of 182 

Indians,  organization  of 147 

pueblo  of,  described.  144 

Tecpan,  or  official  house  of  the  tribe 256 

Tenbroeck,  cited 56 

Teuchtli 14,  249 

Thlinkit,  gentes  and  phrates 17 

Tiotohatton,  size  of 213 

village  of,  described 119 

Tlascalans,  cremation  among 220 

the  four  lineages  of  the 14 

Toques 252 

Towers,  round jl 

Tribal  government  of  the  Iroquois 32 

stages  of 21 

Tribe  composed  of  gentes 18 

functions  and  attributes  of 21 

the 17 


Page. 

Tribe,  the  characteristics  of 21 

Tribes  and  gentes  continually  forming 19 

formed  by  natural  growth 19 

evolved  from  each  other 20 

in  savagery,  communal  dwellings  of 106 

Tribute  and  tribute  lands 90 

U. 

Uxmal,  Governor’s  House  at 258 

described 259 

House  of  the  Nuns  at 260 

ground  plan 261 

room  described 262 

structures  of : 256 

V. 

V6ga,  Garcillasso  de  la,  cited 60 

Village  Indians,  houses  of  the 132 

of  New  Mexico,  arts  of 135 

religious  beliefs  of 151, 152, 153 

Voyage  to  New  York  in  1679-80  by  Dankers  and 
Sluyter 118 

IV. 

Walker,  E.  A.,  on  the  Iroquois 6 

Ward,  J.,  cited.  145 

Whittlesey,  C 218 

Wocoken,  island  of 47 

Wolpi,  pueblo  of 141 

Wright,  A 65 

Wyth,  J.,  cited 115 

Y. 

Yucatan  and  Central  American  agriculture  . . . 253 

architecture  272 

confederacies 251 

general  condition  of 
the  aborigines ....  274 

household  life  in ... . 263 

Indians,  condition 
and  structures  of.  274 

languages  of  252 

population  of 251 

villages  designed  as 

fortresses 270 

ruins  of  houses  in. . . 251 

village  life 251 

Maya  Indians  of 59,  75 

Yzaes 255 

Z. 

Zayi,  apartment  in 266 

architecture 266 

ground  plan  of  265 

ruins  of 266 

Zelsales 252 

Zempoala  described 230 

Zufii,  pueblo  of 137 


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